Midnight Snow
by CrazyAce'n'PokerFace
Summary: He stared at her. "What are you doing here?" he asked. "I'm not sure. I thought I was dreaming, but if I was, you'd be a lot happier to see me," she replied. In a place between two souls, where two worlds collide, they meet once more. A HitsuKarin story.
1. Do I Wake or Sleep?

**Author Note: Hello everyone! This is CrazyAce with her trusty sidekick, PokerFace, adding to the wonderfulness that is HitsuKarin fanfiction. This story is set six or so years in the future, after Aizen's been defeated and when Karin is 17. We do hope you give this story a chance, and join us for the ride through our insane imaginations. Thanks for reading! **

**Normal = prose, **_**italics**_** = thoughts or inner conversations **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. They belong solely to Tite Kubo. However, if there was an alternate universe where I do own Bleach, I will promptly give my left arm to switch with my other self. I also do not own any of the chapter titles. Cookies for anyone who guesses which poems they're from. **

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**Chapter 1: Do I Wake or Sleep?**

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**i.**

* * *

She dreamed of midnight snow and icy darkness, of deadened silence and endless night. She knew she dreamed, and yet the dreams seemed more real than waking life, like right now as she felt the beating of her heart, the shudder of every breath, vibrantly aware, aware, aware. Of what she wasn't sure, but she closed her eyes for a moment, then kept on walking.

She walked the halls of a castle made of silver and ice and black marble, and knew from previous travels through this strange dream-world (or was it a nightmare realm?) that it was vast and grand and impenetrable. And inescapable, too, she supposed, but then she'd never tried to actually _leave_, so she couldn't be certain. Telling herself to wake up didn't count in her opinion because it never worked anyway, and a wry smile twisted her mouth at this thought. Maybe she _was_ a prisoner of this dark and mysterious place, like some captive princess languishing away in a fairy tale.

She frowned as this occurred to her, then shrugged and decided that couldn't be it, because she'd always dreamt of being the dragon-riding knight rather than the helpless heroine. She was positive her subconscious would respect that and leave her _some_ dignity. But then again, if her mind would behave and listen to her, she wouldn't be here in the first place, and she certainly wouldn't be wearing a flimsy black nightgown. Looking down at herself, she frowned yet again. At least no one else would see her. She was alone here, the only living presence in this castle. She didn't know how she knew this, as the castle was far from fully explored, but if she had to explain _why_ she knew she'd blame a sense of emptiness, like a darkness broken only by the light of her flickering life.

Catching her reflection in a mirror down the hall, she walked forward, her hand outstretched until it reached cold glass. She surveyed her reflection, tracing over barely shoulder-length black hair, finely arched brows, and a generously full mouth, which she abruptly thinned into a scowl. Her pale skin glowed in the moonlight streaming through the windows, and her eyes were thrown into sharp contrast, a smoky gray the shade of stormy thunderclouds.

She looked like a _girly-girl_, she thought in disgust. She was glad Yuzu wasn't present in this dream, or worse, her idiotic Goat-chin of a father. They'd be ecstatic at her feminine appearance, so far removed from her usual ragged t-shirts, scruffy shorts, and unmade-up face. Well, at least they accepted her the way she was, and never pushed her to be any different, unless there was some formal function or other such event. She wondered if this dream would count as one. Shrugging, she decided not to worry about it.

She went on her way, climbing up a flight of elegant, winding stairs until she found herself on a balcony that faced westwards over an icy plain devoid of wind, surrounded by a ring of imposing mountains. Standing there, she thought back again to the image of a fair princess locked up in a tower, and once more rejected it. When she walked the castle, it didn't feel threatening or lonely, but welcoming and accepting instead. _She _was the master, the one in control, a battle-proven queen rather than a princess. She smirked at that image, and idly wondered when her dragon would appear. It always did, after all.

Ah, there. She could hear it now, a distant whispering that drew closer and grew louder, until the sound resembled the howling winds of a storm, the thundering roar of lightning breaking open the sky. Here and now, suddenly, startlingly, the world was filled to bursting, the empty void filled with an immense, uncontainable presence. She stood there and threw her arms open wide, face raised in defiance to this force of nature.

"I AM KARIN!" she screamed. "I am not afraid of you!"

And she looked directly into the eyes of a dragon made of clouds and air, its scales the soft, muted black of twilight, its winding body moving with sinuous grace, its cold breath hissing out, its teeth bared in a fierce grin. It was coming closer, closer, closer, until it faced her directly and—

She woke up.

She was staring up at a plain white ceiling, lying on a narrow twin bed with black sheets pooled at her feet, kicked there haphazardly some point during yet another restless night. Sitting up, she wiped a hand over her face and sighed, then reached over and smacked the "off" button of her alarm clock before it could go off and make her even more annoyed than she felt now (Karin never depended on the alarm to wake her up, but rather the _threat_ of it interrupting her sleep, so she always woke up before the set time).

Grumbling, she got up and started her morning ritual, the same at age seventeen as it was when she was ten, going over to the bathroom and brushing her teeth, then yanking a comb carelessly through her hair before covering it with her signature baseball cap. She picked out a suitably boyish outfit from her surprisingly neat closet (it came from years of living with Yuzu), threw it on, grabbed her backpack, and instinctively looked to the right side of the room, a habit that remained from when she and Yuzu still shared living quarters, before she'd moved into Ichigo's old bedroom. Seeing only posters of soccer teams, rock bands, and diagrams of human hearts, she went and kicked open the door and walked out, holding out a fist to deflect the oncoming affection-attack from Goat-chin.

"Karin-chaaaan! My lovely—oof!" went her father before collapsing into a pile at the other end of the hallway. _Idiot father, what is he doing over_ there_? I didn't hit him _that _hard_, she thought, shaking her head.

Pausing for a moment to survey her handiwork, she shrugged and went on her way, stopping by the kitchen to grab a plate of breakfast from Yuzu. Her gentle, beautiful twin, who'd probably been up since dawn doing chores, gave her a happy smile and wished her a cheerful good morning. Karin smiled half-heartedly in return and picked through her breakfast, not really hungry but not wanting to make her sister worry either.

The morning was reasonably quiet, like any other in their household now that Ichi-nii was attending college in Tokyo and Goat-chin was thoughtfully refraining from abusing his daughters in his son's stead, channeling his pent-up energy into gardening as a substitute, if that was what you could call the grotesque tree-sculptures in their back yard. Leaning up against the kitchen counter, she watched as Yuzu started to clean up, and after a moment she pushed her plate to the side and took the dirty pans out of her sister's hands, ignoring the protests that inevitably came, warding them off by saying that it was only fair that she do the washing of dishes, and besides, she _liked _doing it (both of which were true).

Yuzu gave in and went to sit at the table, and chatted away about how Miyazaku-chan and Andou-kun had finally started going out, how she wanted to go shopping at that new clothing boutique this weekend, and how she hoped Jinta-kun liked the sweater she knitted him for his birthday. Karin nodded and made short, teasing remarks at the appropriate places. She laughed at Yuzu's last topic, and said simply, "To that idiot, an ounce of dirt from you would be worth as much as a mountain of gold." Yuzu blushed and laughed, but Karin noticed how her eyes had softened and grown dreamy, no doubt thinking about her red-headed boyfriend. In the lull of comfortable silence that followed, Karin finished up the dishes and wiped her hands on a towel, stopping to stare out the window at the sight of the sleepy small town of Karakura coming to life.

At no point during any of this did she think of black castles or cloud dragons. Nope, not at all. She certainly didn't wonder _why_ on earth she had kept dreaming the same dream again and again and again, until she thought she'd go crazy from frustration. She didn't wonder what would happen if her dreams actually progressed any further, because she didn't want them to at all; she just wanted them to stop, like any other normal person would. She wasn't the least bit curious about what would happen next. No, she had her feet firmly on the ground, with her future planned out and her goals set. She was not distracted by freaky, mysterious dreams. She wasn't. Not. At. All. And that was final.

"Umm, Karin-chan?" Yuzu asked, tentatively.

"Yeah, Yuzu? Something up?" Karin asked, distractedly.

"Nothing. It's just…you were muttering again. About a castle? And a dragon? And I was wondering…are you having trouble with your dreams again?" Yuzu said in a worried tone.

"No, Yuzu, it's nothing big. Don't worry about it, I'm sure it's just a phase," Karin answered. She'd told Yuzu about the dreams two months ago, when they'd first begun. She'd given her a vague description, as they hadn't yet become incredibly vivid, so Yuzu knew the general gist of it. Empty castle, lots of moonlight, a feeling of expectation. No mentions of a dragon until about a month ago, when it—no, _she_, Karin was sure the dragon was female—finally made her appearance.

But soon afterwards, Karin stopped sharing her dreams with Yuzu, partly because she hoped they'd go away if she didn't talk about them, and partly because there was something _private_ about them. Something that made her think she couldn't share it with anyone, not even her twin. It wasn't the first time she'd ever kept a secret from Yuzu, but it still made her slightly uncomfortable and guilty, so she avoided her sister's gaze.

"All right, Karin. If you say so," Yuzu said, disbelievingly.

Uh-oh. That wasn't good. At this rate, Yuzu would say something to Goat-chin, who'd probably drag her to some weird psychiatrist friend of his who'd try and hypnotize her and get her to probe deeply into her subconscious to connect with the inner "feminine mystique," which would, of course, urge her to get married straight out of college and promptly start providing her father with beloved grandchildren. Or maybe he'd try to fix the problem himself with the "power of fatherly love" and "Kurosaki filial devotion" or some other such nonsense. Karin shuddered at the thought. Either way, she had to distract Yuzu from her own problems and get her sister to focus on something else.

"Hey, Yuzu, why don't I drive us to that clothing store you were talking about after school today, instead of on the weekend? There'll probably less people, so you can take your time and browse a little longer," Karin oh-so-very-casually suggested.

Yuzu's face instantly brightened, and she happily agreed, all thoughts of Karin's dilemma forgotten. Karin breathed an inner sigh of relief, squashing the faint sense of guilt at manipulating her sister so underhandedly, and pushing back the dread at the thought of more than five seconds in a place that could only be described as "girly."

_It's for the greater good_, she told herself, _the greater good. Hopefully I get the boys to see it that way when I drag them along with me. There is _NO _way I'm letting them enjoy a perfectly sunny day playing soccer _without _me. I suffer, they suffer._

With that cheerful thought, she followed Yuzu out the door to the car, and drove them both to another ordinary day as high school seniors.

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**ii.**

* * *

Hitsugaya Toushirou, Taichou of the Tenth Division, glared menacingly at the pile of paperwork in front of him, and then raised a brow at his once-again hung-over fukutaichou.

"I'm going to assume you have a decent excuse for why our division's budget receipts are covered in what appear to be Yachiru's…unique…artwork?"

"Taichoooouuu!" wailed Matsumoto. "It's not my fault! I swear! It's Yumichika-kun's and Ikkaku-san's! They're the ones who brought her along! I was trying to do my work, just like you told me to, when they barged in and invited me out for a night of drinking with Kira-kun, Abarai-kun, and Iba-san. How could I have refused them?"

"By saying 'no.' It's not that difficult to do. And why on earth did they let Yachiru have access to alcohol? Never mind, don't answer that question. This is Kenpachi's adopted daughter we're talking about. But I still don't understand why you brought the paperwork with you to the bar. It's a miracle that all of you didn't have the brilliant idea to start a bonfire with them, or something to that effect," Hitsugaya grumbled in an aggrieved, long-suffering tone.

A guilty silence met his statement.

"No…you didn't! Matsumoto, tell me you did not set fire to our paperwork! We need it!" Hitsugaya yelled, sorting through the pile in front of him and belatedly noticing it was half the size of the one he left on Matsumoto's desk the day before. With a groan, he leaned back against his seat, hands covering his face in a rare show of exasperation.

"I give up. I swear, this time, I am _really_ giving up on you, Matsumoto. I do not have the time or inclination to deal with this anymore," he groaned.

Slightly concerned at her captain's characteristic response but uncharacteristic mood, Matsumoto leaned forward. "Is something wrong, Taichou? You seem a little off today."

Blearily looking over at her with shadows under his normally clear turquoise eyes, Hitsugaya sighed and simply stated, "Nothing more than usual. You can get back to work now. And no more saké until _all_ of your paperwork is finished."

Ignoring his lieutenant's cry of dismay, he turned his attention back to the daily reports that made up such a large portion of his work as a Taichou. Soon, he was completely engrossed in the details and routine of the day, never noticing the worried looks Matsumoto continued to shoot him from across the room.

Hours later, as the sun began to set and darkness began to creep in, he reminded himself to light a lamp and decided to stretch a little before he did so, shrugging his shoulders and working the kinks out of his neck. Sighing quietly, he turned back to the page in front of him, noting a little groggily how the words seemed to float off the page. Assessing how much work he had left, he figured that he had enough time to take a quick break. After all, it wouldn't do if he made a careless mistake just because he was too tired to concentrate. So laying his head on his folded arms, he closed his eyes, thinking, _Just fifteen minutes and_—

—He woke at the edge of an ice-covered plain, carrying nothing but his unsheathed sword, and dressed in a _shikahusho_ as black as obsidian. His unruly white hair matched the color of the arctic frost around him, and he turned his sea-green eyes upwards. Above him stretched an expanse of clear, pure blue that went on and on forever, unbroken by clouds or heavenly bodies. There was no sun in this world, nor stars nor moon nor anything else beyond the ground, the mountains, and the penetrating cold. Always, there was the cold: a freezing chill which reached out with tender hands and turned everything to ice, even the air itself. He breathed it in and closed his eyes, feeling its familiar power.

He was home.

Here in this forbidding place of endless white and winter brightness, he was home. Here in this world of unchanging ice and desperate extremes, he was home. Here, here, _here_, he belonged, the chaotic calm in his war-filled existence.

Sometimes, he wondered what it said about him, that his inner world was so inhospitable, so difficult to survive; but mostly he shrugged it off, knowing instinctively that it was a self-imposed test, a test to determine how strong he truly was. And he took a fierce pride in knowing also that he was strong enough to not just survive, but _thrive_ here, here in the place that would have killed off all but the most powerful of warriors. He smiled bitterly, speculating if his old neighbors had sensed this empty wasteland inside him. He knew they'd sensed something, something that had scared them off, but he doubted they could have realized the depth of his abilities. He'd yet to fully explore this world himself, and he lived here.

Standing still for a moment, he gazed across the icy plain, getting ready for yet another journey. Eternity stretched behind him, and infinity called to him ahead. So he placed his sword across his back (a habit he'd kept even though he'd grown tall enough now to wear it at his side) and began walking forward. Ever forward, always moving, senses vibrantly aware, waiting, waiting, waiting for…

Ah, there he was. Hyourinmaru. Hitsugaya smiled once more, this time only with joy, and began running forward. Faster, faster, faster, until it seemed that the wind itself was pushing him forward, that the ice was lending swiftness to his feet, and he met his dragon head on, almost laughing in exhilaration at reuniting with his one companion in this frozen wilderness.

But Hyourinmaru would not speak to him, instead staring intently at something far to the east. And Hitsugaya, face set in his usual scowl, turned to see what had so enraptured his zanpakutou.

And saw a castle jutting defiantly from the face of the edge-most mountain. A castle made of night-black stone and shining silver, surrounded by dark winds and storm clouds. It was shadowy, forbidding, and at once both foreign and frighteningly…familiar. It looked like it belonged there, sitting at the end of his inner world. And something about it called to him, beckoned temptingly, whispered of secrets and sorcery and silence. It was mystery incarnate, and for the first time in his life, Hitsugaya Toushirou had a definite end to his journey, an end to his world. And he wasn't sure he wanted to find out what was there.

He turned to Hyourinmaru to ask once more _why_ that thing was there, but before he could open his mouth, a terrifying roar split the heavens open, sent his world spinning into broken chaos, summoned storms and lightning and thunder strong enough to tear his soul to pieces. Yet somehow in the midst of this maelstrom, he could nearly make out a voice, saying—

And once more he awoke.

Hitsugaya bolted upright, catapulted straight out of his dream world and back into reality. He looked around at his now dark and empty office, and scowled in frustration. This…hallucination had been haunting him for nearly two months now, depriving him of sleep and constantly consuming his thoughts. He was tired of it, tired of these pointless visions. Letting his breath out in a disgruntled his, he looked up at the ceiling, wondering if tonight he would dream again of a dark castle at the edge of his icy plain, a strange addition to his inner world.

_Perhaps you will_, Hyourinmaru whispered. _Perhaps_ she _will visit once more._

Startled, Hitsugaya asked, _Who will visit?_

_You know of whom I speak_, his zanpakutou replied enigmatically.

_No, I don't. If you would just explain _why_ I keep having these dreams, maybe I'd understand better_, Hitsugaya angrily replied.

But this time, only silence met his words.

Exasperated, Hitsugaya returned to his work, grumbling under his breath about cryptic answers and useless dragons. And never did he acknowledge the thought that lingered in the back of his mind.

_Will I dream again tonight?_

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**Endnote: Once again, thank you for reading, and please review if you can. :)**


	2. All That's Best of Dark and Bright

**Author Note: Hello everyone! This is CrazyAce, reporting for duty! (PokerFace also says hi.) We welcome you to the next installment of **_**Midnight Snow**_**. Thank you for keeping up with us, and we do hope you enjoy this latest chapter. Also, we'd like to give a heartfelt bow of gratitude to anyone who alerted, favorited (is that even a word?), or reviewed this story, namely: Spockie, anna1594, Tutrtle-chan in Blue, , Tharrow, ticking-clocks8, XX825N12319W, oOoHKoOo, Red-Haired-Jack, NarayaEdea, ichilover3, Revanent. You guys are awesome! And thanks to everyone who just took the time to read this story; we're grateful for all of you.**

**Please note that this chapter is Karin-centric, and Hitsugaya makes no direct appearances. But Ch. 3's all about him, so don't worry. :)**

**Normal = prose, **_**italics**_** = thoughts or inner conversations **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. They belong solely to Tite Kubo. However, if there was an alternate universe where I do own Bleach, I will promptly give my left arm to switch with my other self. I also do not own any of the chapter titles. Cookies for anyone who guesses which poems they're from. Ooh, but I **_**do**_** own Dr. Takano. :) **

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**Chapter 2: All That's Best of Dark and Bright**

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**i. **

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The boutique was a lot less frilly than she had expected. It was actually kind of tasteful, and had the type of clothes she might even wear without wanting to burn right afterwards. Still, the name left a little something to be desired. After all, what kind of person named a store "Exquisitely You"? Something about it just hinted at lace and lingerie, and there was a section of such items discreetly tucked away in a back corner of the store. But overall, the effect was one of understated elegance.

She sincerely hoped Yuzu didn't expect her to pay for any of the stuff. They looked _expensive_. She dug out her wallet, and checked out the measly bills contained within. Yup, definitely broke. Shrugging carelessly, she tossed her water bottle up into the air and caught it, wondering when they'd get out of the store and out onto a soccer field.

Fingering a black turtleneck, she studiously avoided the gaze of one of the more "helpful" employees, and quirked a brow in surprise as she caught sight of the price tag on the sweater. It was cheaper than she expected for an item of decent quality. Probably why Yuzu had decided to drop by. If there was one thing her sister was good at (besides cooking, cleaning, sewing, and generally being perfect), it was finding a bargain.

Moving on to the back of the store, she joined her sheepish and embarrassed (yet somehow enthusiastic) gang of friends as they held an assortment of clothing, shopping bags, and purses (Yuzu always carried two, usually one inside the other, Kami-sama knew why). They were hanging out in front of the dressing rooms, which were just across the lingerie area. Karin could see Ryohei making eyes at one of the store clerks, who giggled flirtatiously and fluttered her own eyes back at him. Pinta assiduously stared up at the ceiling, trying to ignore the flower-embossed bag hanging on his arm. Donny and Kazuya were arguing over which looked better on Yuzu, the black pencil skirt or the bright green dress. What was most disturbing about that last scene was that those two were neither gay _nor _hot for Yuzu—they just liked fashion. _All_ of them were waiting patiently for the star of the show to appear and model off her latest choices, _oohing _and _aahing_ as she twirled around—the perfect entourage.

Rolling her eyes at her friends' devoted fawning, Karin stepped forward and simply said, "Pick the other one, Yuzu. Yellow suits you better than black, and besides, that one doesn't exactly fit you properly."

Yuzu giggled, and replied, "It's not for me, silly. It's for you!"

Karin choked on the water she was sipping. "_What?_" she spluttered.

"Well, since you refuse to try on any clothes, I have to try them out for you, to see if they're comfortable. This dress is in your size, and you always look good in black," Yuzu stated, matter-of-fact.

"Yeah, Kurosaki, you look stunning in black," said Donny emphatically, agreeing completely with her sister. That traitor, Karin thought angrily. Should've known he'd side with Yuzu. She turned to her other friends for support, only to remember what they were actually like.

" Ye-aaahh, Kurosaki looks _stunning_ in black," said Ryohei and Pinta tauntingly, before collapsing on the floor in a fit of laughter. Glaring balefully at them, Karin moved to kick them both in their obviously addled heads, before Kazuya's question stopped her in her tracks.

"But is she going to need a dress any time soon? I mean, graduation's not until the middle of next year. That thing will just hang in the back of her closet for months, unless she decides to toss it," Kazuya said.

"Hmmm. That's a good point. Besides, Kurosaki's not really the type of person to wear dresses, even if she does look good in them," Donny replied.

"You think I look good in _dresses_?" asked Karin incredulously, only to be met with thoughtful nods from everyone around her.

"Yeah," said Ryohei. "They even make you look like an actual girl. Ouch! What was that for, Kurosaki-chan?" he exclaimed, rubbing his now-bruised shin.

"She _is_ a girl!" said Yuzu crossly, coming to her sister's defense.

"But only in a fake kind of way!" Ryohei protested.

Karin couldn't help but laugh at this, watching her friends and her sister argue over the merits of her beauty and the definition of "female." Still, it was reassuring to see that she was considered just one of the guys. She wouldn't know what to do with herself in a relationship. Much better to leave the mushy stuff to Yuzu. Now, all she had to do was convince Goat-chin of that…

Seeing the argument begin to escalate, she decided to step in and save herself the hassle of interfering in a full-out scene: "Just buy the stupid dress for me."

At the shocked looks on the faces of her friends, Karin continued, "What? I'm sure it'll fit fine. Yuzu and I've got something formal-ish coming up, so I_ am_ gonna need it. Besides, it'll make Goat-chin ecstatic to see me showing an interest in something other than school or soccer balls."

Yuzu smiled happily, battle won without too much bloodshed, and made her way over to the cashier, beckoning Pinta and Ryohei to follow her, as they were her main packhorses and carried the majority of her selections. Karin's black dress she proudly carried herself, much like a trophy of war. Donny and Kazuya trailed faithfully behind them, already making plans to join Yuzu for her next expedition. Karin smirked and shook her head. She should've known that this trip would result in torture for herself alone. At least she'd make the others suffer once they got outside. Seemed like a pretty good day for a soccer game, and after surviving that shopping excursion, she certainly deserved it.

Humming quietly, she made her way outside, pulling the cap low over her eyes in an effort to shade them from the bright glare of the sun. Upon hearing the gang plus Yuzu exit behind her, talking loudly and generally making a public nuisance of themselves, she walked towards her beat-up, black truck, hoping she could get everyone inside without too much fuss. She hated it when she drew attention, preferring instead to watch silently from the edges, but when she was with her friends, lying low was impossible to do. This point was dramatically illustrated when Ryohei and Kazuya started hitting each other with the shopping bags. Oh, well. It wasn't as if she cared what other people thought anyway, and it's not like she was involved this time, so might as well let the passerby stare.

Soon enough, they were making their way back home. The seating arrangements were as follows: Karin was driving and Yuzu was riding shotgun, and the four idiots were crammed in the back, along with all the newly purchased merchandise. _Oh, yes_, thought Karin, grinning evilly as she watched their discomfort in the rearview mirror. _Revenge is sweet_. And she turned the radio on louder, ignoring the protests from the guys as she subjected them to Yuzu's favorite music station.

* * *

**ii.**

* * *

They left Yuzu at the house, and she graciously sent them on their way with a wave and a smile. As soon as she was out of sight, Karin revved the engine, heading straight for the soccer field, grinning while the guys whooped and cheered in the back. Ryohei climbed over the seats to the front ("Get off, you idiot! Do you _want_ me to lose my license!"), and he and Donny were now arguing over whether or not their high school's soccer team would win the coming tournament. Within five minutes, Kazuya was trying to get his glasses back from Pinta, Pinta was trying to get Donny's foot out of his face, Donny was trying to strangle Ryohei, and Ryohei was laughing madly at the tangled mess they made. All in all, it was just another car ride, and Karin just rolled her eyes at their antics and sharply told them to knock it off, secretly happy to be in the midst of it all.

When they got to the field, Karin stepped out of the truck and stared for a second at that expanse of green space, at the golden light that grazed each blade of grass. Breathing in the scent of fresh air, she gave a fierce grin and began to stretch her limber body, looking forward to an hour spent playing a good, hard game of soccer. She divided up their group into two teams, with Ryohei, Donny, and Pinta on one side, and her and Kazuya on the other (it was vastly uneven, but the boys' pride would never let them play four-on-one). Then the game was on, and she was running free, free, free, glorying in the feel of the wind in her hair, the breath whooshing in her lungs, the ease of her graceful, fluid movements, and the racing beat of her heart, blood flowing red and swift within her. Inhale, exhale. Run, dodge, kick. Exhale, inhale. Block, step, sidestep, pass. Feel the sun, the wind, the grass beneath her feet. Fall back some, protect the goal. Oooh, should've anticipated that fake. Sprint a little, keeping the stride easy, and—there! Steal the ball, run it down the field, dodge Ryohei's attempt to stop her, stick her tongue out at Pinta, and drive the ball straight into the goal, leaving Donny to fall flat on his face. Slap hands with Kazuya, do a little victory dance. Jump up and down, feeling this exhilaration, this contentment, this sense of belonging.

And forget for a moment that tonight she'll dream of dragons and castles, and live a fairy tale straight from the Brothers Grimm. Here and now, she was fully awake and fully alive. _This _was her world. She couldn't let herself forget that. She _wouldn't_ let herself forget that.

"Kurosaki…Kurosaki!" Kazuya yelled.

"What?" she snapped, shaken out of her reverie. Damn. She got sidetracked again. Looking over at the guys, she lifted her brows, silently asking what the hell they wanted.

"You were zoned out again, Kurosaki. We've been calling you for about two minutes now. Donny was thinking about his stupid stomach again, and he wanted to grab some pizza. Figured we might as well join him, maybe go for a movie first or hang at the arcade. You know, just usual stuff," said Ryohei. "You gonna come?"

"Nah. You guys go on without me. I've got—"

"Studying to do. We know, we know," they said in unison, rolling their eyes in exasperation.

"Gonna be a great cardiologist someday, right, Kurosaki? So you better hit those books," said Pinta.

She scowled. "If you knew what I was going to say beforehand, why'd you even bother asking, idiots?" she said.

"Because it's what friends do, Kurosaki," replied Pinta. "They ask."

Touched, Karin just stared at her gang. They stared back, and for a second, all was right in her world, dreams included. Then she broke her gaze, scowled, and said, "Even if you spout that wimpy talk, I'm not driving you guys there."

And listening to a chorus of their groans, she walked away smiling.

* * *

**iii. **

* * *

Driving back home, Karin thought idly of the school assignments she had waiting for her. Like her brother, she was smart and willing to work hard to get what she wanted. But a big difference between the two of them was that she didn't want to be a shinigami, to protect lives by wielding a sword and fighting—not that she held any judgments against her brother's choices. Or against swords for that matter; after all, in addition to being the captain of the girls' soccer team, she was also the kendo team's vice-captain. But fighting wasn't what she wanted to do with her life. No, she didn't want to cause injuries or hurt people; she wanted to heal them, to fix them up after they'd been broken down, which had always struck her as the more difficult feat. She remembered how easily violence had shattered her world when her mother died, and how difficult it was to make life better again.

It had actually been a ghost who'd helped put her world back together. (This was back in the day before they'd become whiny pests who wouldn't leave her alone, back when she'd still acknowledged they existed.) Her very first ghost.

He was an elderly man who'd died peacefully in his sleep. She met him while visiting the park with Yuzu, and he'd sat down at the nearby bench, just watching the birds. Yuzu and her father hadn't seen anything, and her brother was still at school, so Karin was the only one he could talk to. Not that he'd talked much at first; he was a rather quiet ghost, content to just sit and watch the world go by.

But day after day, she'd stare at him and talk to him and try and share her snacks with him, the way her mother had told her good people did. She hadn't known he was dead at the time, so she'd treated him just like a normal person and disregarded the way people asked her about her new "imaginary" friend. The first time she ever figured out he was different was when she'd introduced him to Yuzu, and her twin had totally ignored his outstretched hand, preferring instead to shake thin air. But she'd shrugged it off with her usual aplomb, and gone on talking to Dr. Takano. That was his name. Dr. Takano.

He'd taught her a lot of things, like how to tell time by looking at the sun, how to get birds to land on you, how to kick a ball so it would curve…and how to tell the living from the dead. It had taken a while before she understood that there was a difference, but he'd shown her how to sense the distinctive…feel of a soul. In someone who was alive, it felt a lot like the sun, nice and warm and bright. In someone dead, like himself, it was still pretty warm if they had just recently died, or if there was something to tie them closely to the world of the living. But sometimes, a soul would get colder and colder, and eventually something bad would happen to them. Or at least that's what Dr. Takano assumed, as the cold souls disappeared often, and he never knew what happened to them.

Most souls actually left as soon as they died, but sometimes there were extenuating circumstances. Karin had scrunched her face at this word, and he'd explained that this meant that sometimes a soul just had to stay behind, because they had something they had to do before they left. Karin had nodded, and asked what was keeping him here. He'd smiled sadly, and said that he'd died before he could say goodbye to his family, or see his granddaughter smile one last time. _She_ reminded him an awful lot of his little Kyoko, and that was probably why he was drawn to her. Karin had stuck her chest out proudly at this, and said that she'd love it if he was her grandfather, and that he could stay forever if he wanted.

After all, he was the best listener _ever,_ and he never got tired of her stories. He'd sit without interrupting her, and always listened with the gravest intensity. It made her feel good, to be treated just like an important adult. She hadn't been cared for that way since her mother died.

So she happily told him all about how she wanted to go to school like her brother, and how she could climb trees higher than the neighborhood boys, and how Yuzu could make the best cookies and she didn't understand why she always burnt hers…

…And how she missed her mother so much that she was sure her heart was literally breaking to pieces. At this, he'd nodded slowly and held her hand, and she'd fought the urge to just break down and cry. Then he'd rummaged in the little bag next to himself and pulled out a stethoscope.

"That's just like the ones my Daddy has," she stated in surprise.

He'd nodded once more and simply knelt in front of her. "May I?" he asked, holding up the instrument.

She'd sniffed and nodded in reply, and he'd put the stethoscope to her chest and listened to her heart with the same tender seriousness as when he'd listened to her stories. After a second or two, he'd put the earphones on her head, and let her listen to the soothing rhythm. _Th-thump. Th-thump. Th-thump, _went her heart. Taking the stethoscope off, he put it back in his bag and sat down next to her once more.

"When I was still alive, I was a cardiologist, you know," he stated.

"A cart-ee-lo-jis?" Karin asked.

"Mm-hm. That's a special kind of doctor who helps people when their hearts are broken," Dr. Takano said.

Karin's eyes had widened, and she'd asked, "Can you fix my heart, Dr. Takano?"

"No, my dear, I'm afraid not," he'd sadly replied. "This is the kind of broken heart that a doctor can't heal."

Karin had looked down, disappointed. If Dr. Takano, the kindest, wisest person she'd ever met (besides her mother, of course), couldn't fix her heart, who could? Now she really _was _crying.

Suddenly a pristine white handkerchief was in front of her, gently wiping her eyes.

"Now, now, Karin-chan, there's no need to cry. Remember your heartbeat. It sounded good and strong, didn't it? To me, it certainly sounded like one of the strongest hearts I've ever listened to," Dr. Takano said. "Now, a heart like that, it can get broken and just keep on going.  
It may be hard, and it may be painful, but eventually it will heal. A heart like that won't stay broken forever."

"You really think so?" she'd hiccupped.

"No, Karin-chan. I _know_ so." And he'd smiled at her. And for the first time in a long time, she'd let herself give a smile back, one without any sadness in it.

Seeing the smile, Dr. Takano had stood up and said, "I really should be going, Karin-chan."

Puzzled, she'd asked, "Going where?"

"To heaven, of course. And there I'll find your mother, and tell her all about how her daughter is doing just fine and bravely smiling each day, even if it hurts her soul a little. And I'll tell her how I had the honor of listening to that special young lady's heart." With that, Dr. Takano had patted her head, waved good-bye, and faded into thin air.

That was the last time she'd ever seen him, and the last time she'd ever cried about her mother. From that day on, she knew exactly what she wanted to be: a cardiologist. Just like Dr. Takano. So she'd determined to get the best grades in her class, get into a good college, and go on into a prestigious medical school. Through her father, she already had important contacts, but she knew that hard work and bullheaded determination were necessary to get where she wanted to be. Medicine was a highly competitive field, cardiology more so. And she could count the number of high-ranking women cardiologists in Japan on one hand. She'd picked a hard path, in some ways as hard as Ichi-nii's, but she wasn't going to let anything stop her from achieving her goals. Not even freaky dreams.

Her thoughts drifted back to the present, and she noted the time, glancing out the window at the setting sun. Looking a little ahead, she smirked a little when she noticed where she was.

The railing.

It was where she'd met Hitsugaya Toushirou, one fateful day six years ago. Oh, technically they'd met when she'd kicked her ball away in a fit of ire and angst, but who counted a five-second exchange? No, their first conversation had been right…here.

And she stopped her truck and got out to watch the sunset, thinking now of memories and carefree days and a white-haired boy who'd made her lose her breath. In a non-romantic way, of course. Forcing her to run all over Karakura looking for him wasn't exactly the kind of reason why a boy set a girl's heart pounding. And admiration over his prowess at soccer and awe over his powers as a shinigami were the closest she'd ever gotten to starry-eyed devotion. She respected him, and she liked his company. He'd made her laugh during one of the most worry-filled times in her life, and he'd saved her from humiliating defeat on the soccer field. What was not to like? And of course…he was her best friend.

After the war had ended, and Aizen—that jerk-face, how she _despised_ him—had been defeated, Ichi-nii had come home, arm slung over their father, both wearing shikahushos. And she'd gone out and kicked both of them right in their smug, elated faces. Then she'd sat down and bawled her eyes out, and Yuzu had come running, laughing and sobbing and talking all at once, and she'd sat down right beside her, and they'd cried together while Ichi-nii and Goat-chin had wrapped their arms around them.

Life had been…a little chaotic after that. Her father had explained about his life after death, her brother spilled the beans about why he'd been gone getting half-killed all the time, Kon had elucidated why he could no longer be Bostov, and Karin had clarified about how she'd found out about it all. Yuzu had just taken it in stride and made them dinner as usual.

Shortly after, they had received an invitation from Rukia-nee-chan, to a ball in Soul Society in celebration of the end of the war. Yuzu had dragged her along, giddy because it was the first glimpse into a world she'd only known about through secondhand information. Besides, Jinta-kun had formally asked her for a dance. Karin had hung out by the punch bowl, watching her twin from the sidelines and surreptitiously observing the goings-on. She'd then retreated to a nearby balcony when the atmosphere began getting a little _too_ festive. She hated crowds, after all. Too much noise and too much energy, and not enough control.

She'd caught a glimpse of _him_, then; she'd waved him down, and he'd avoided her until she mentioned how she wouldn't want to hang out with such a midget anyway—and then he'd jumped right in her face, telling her quite loudly how he was _not_ a super-midget. She'd laughed, he'd nearly burst a blood vessel, and somehow they spent the rest of the night talking. Well, that wasn't entirely true, as Karin had done the talking, mostly about soccer and video games and certain heavy metal bands she was fond of, and Hitsugaya had done the listening, just replying with one-word answers every now and then. She'd been slightly alarmed at herself, and wondered if the punch had been spiked, because she _never _talked this much, especially not to arrogant boys she barely knew…when he'd said, "It's good to see that you're the same as ever."

Just as if they were old friends catching up. As if nothing about this conversation was out of the ordinary. And somehow, she'd found herself forgetting that they _were_ strangers, that he wasn't someone she was sure she could trust. So she ignored the warning signals her brain was sending, because her heart was saying that he _was_ someone she could trust, could depend on for anything. So she'd replied, "Of course I'm the same, you idiot. It's only been two months since you've seen me. How could I have changed?"

"How am I supposed to know? You humans are so fast-paced; it's a miracle anyone can keep up with you. It was just a couple years ago when Matsumoto was bringing back tied-dyed shirts and Beatles music from the Real World."

"More like a couple decades! Really, Toushirou, if you want to be an up-to-date Taichou instead of someone from the Jurassic age, you ought to stop by my place and hang out with me for a day."

He'd smiled that half-smile of his, the one that was equivalent to five minutes of laughter from anyone else, then replied, "Who knows? Maybe I will."

She'd been shocked out of her mind when he actually showed up three weeks later in a gigai, dressed in his usual black shirt and pants, standing at the railing. She'd been walking home from soccer practice, and just happened to be passing by. Stupefied, the first words out of her mouth were, "What the hell are _you_ doing here?"

He'd scowled and said, "It's none of your business, Kurosaki."

So she'd shrugged and feigned disinterest, saying, "Whatever. Fine with me. I've got to get home anyway."

And she'd started walking away. Surprisingly, he'd started walking with her, saying how it wasn't safe for someone with her level of reiatsu to be waltzing around unescorted, especially since there were still remnants of Aizen's army at large. Correctly assuming that that was the reason he was stuck down here once again, she'd teasingly replied, "Oh? And how is a kid who's barely taller than I am supposed to protect me?"

"By making sure you don't go looking for trouble—and I'm not a kid, Kurosaki. Get that through your thick skull, will you?" he retorted nonchalantly. "Besides, I've got at least two inches on you, so I wouldn't be talking."

So he'd walked her home, stopping for a quick game of soccer (which he'd easily won, much to her dismay) and two ice cream cones from a nearby convenience store (which he insisted on paying for, with no argument from her). And the next thing she knew, he was showing up once a month or so at the railing, ready for a day at the arcade or the soccer field, always claiming how it was just to kill time since he'd already killed off most of the Hollows in the vicinity. He nearly always arrived when her schedule was free and she had time to spare, so she'd laugh and show him around town, spending a couple of hours just having fun. Or sometimes, she'd accompany her brother to Soul Society for some errand or other, and she'd inevitably find her way to his office, handing Matsumoto the latest concoction from Hime-nee, cheekily swiping a couple papers from his desk to make paper airplanes.

She found herself getting used to his presence in her life, gradually letting her guard down around him. Soon, she was telling him things she'd never told anyone else, sharing all her dreams and aspirations and trusting him to simply listen and understand her.

Until one day, at the railing, she'd turned to him and asked, "Are we best friends?"

He'd sighed and replied, "Who knows?"

And she knew they were.

She laughed softly at that. Sure, they didn't see each other as often as other best friends did. Actually, it'd already been some time since he'd last visited the Real World (five months, three weeks, and two days...but who was counting?). Still. He was her best friend. The person who shared the (mostly) same taste in food and music and video games, and who had the guts to argue when their differences came up. The person who could tease her, and make her smile, and get her to laugh when the day was going to pieces. The person who didn't hesitate to tell her when she was screwing up. The only person who could beat her at soccer (not even Ichi-nii had that honor anymore). The only one besides Yuzu and Dr. Takano who she'd ever told about her mother. The only one who understood about being _different_ than everyone else, even her own friends. The only person she'd ever let see _all_ of her.

And she missed him dreadfully.

She wondered what he'd say about her dreams. Should she even tell him? She'd even kept the details from Yuzu, but then Toushirou was…Toushirou. He was different from everyone else. She was sure that she could tell him about her dreams, at least the basic details, and he could help them make some sort of sense. Would he have any good advice for her? Maybe she could ask him for tips on talking to dragons; after all, his zanpakutou was one, wasn't it? Perhaps they had a network or something…

Catching the direction of her thoughts, she laughed again, then started as she noticed the time. The sun was almost completely gone now. _Great_, she thought. _Just perfect. Now I've wasted an hour I could have spent studying for that biology test on Friday._

Running to her car and making her way home, she spared one glance back at their railing, a thought running quietly through her mind.

_It's all right. I'll see him soon…at the wedding._

* * *

**Endnote: Please do not expect the chapters to always be this long…my muse isn't usually this faithful and helpful, and I do not often have the entire day to write, as I'm usually at school. So in two weeks, after spring break is over, the chapters'll be short again, and probably coming more sporadically.**

**Also, for those of you who wonder why Dr. Takano was simply able to fade away, I would like to put forth the explanation that if spirits no longer have something holding them to earth, then they can just "move on," without the need for konso. Otherwise, there ought to be a LOT more shinigami around, like one posted at every hospital and freeway. Anyway, that's my theory. So once Karin was able to smile from her heart, he fulfilled his wish of seeing his "granddaughter" smile before he left.**

**The title for the last chapter was taken from John Keats's poem, "Ode to a Nightingale." So Easter chocolates for anyone who guessed correctly. **

**Anyway, thank you for reading this story, and please review if you can. :) **


	3. And Miles to Go Before I Sleep

**Author Note: Hello again, my lovely readers! CrazyAce'n'PokerFace proudly present Chapter 3 of Midnight Snow. Thank you to all of you who are reading this story, especially to those who have also alerted, reviewed, or added this story to their favorites. The following is a list of these wonderful people, to whom we owe much gratitude: Spockie, anna1594, Turtle-chan in Blue, , Tharrow, ticking-clocks8, XX825N12319W, oOoHKoOo, Red-Haired-Jack, NarayaEdea, ichilover3, Revanent, Life is Full Of Regrets, Tasogare X, Gray Tasare, Ash-chan13, Shizuku700, lilithchild, Auditory Eden, irsistort, Soul-Searcher16, ScienceAngel, xkaleidoscopex, and SilverDragonEyeCardSpiritWolf. Thank you to them and to everyone who's stuck with us thus far. And now, on with the story!**

**WARNING: Upcoming mentions of RenRuki. Please feel free to criticize my writing, but not the couple. Thank you.**

**Normal = prose, **_**italics**_** = thoughts or inner conversations **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. They belong solely to Tite Kubo. However, if there was an alternate universe where I do own Bleach, I will promptly give my left arm to switch with my other self. I also do not own any of the chapter titles. Cookies for anyone who guesses which poems they're from. :)**

* * *

**Chapter Three: And Miles to Go Before I Sleep**

* * *

**i.**

* * *

It really wasn't so bad, he supposed. It could have been worse. It definitely could have been worse.

He just couldn't think of _how_ it could be worse at the moment.

Staring back and forth between Matsumoto, who was grinning at him evilly, and Momo, who was smiling at him expectantly, he could think of only one way to reply:

"I don't think so."

And there it was, the instant pout forming on both faces so quickly that he wondered if they had it synchronized down to the second. He wouldn't put it past Matsumoto to have planned the whole thing out already, and even though Momo seemed sweet and naïve, she hadn't gotten to be fukutaichou by playing it safe. He was dealing with two very formidable opponents here, and he couldn't afford to misstep; otherwise, he'd end up—no, no, no. Focus, he had to _focus_. He would _not _let them beat him, oh, no, he would not succumb, no matter what.

_Oh, Kami-sama help me_, he thought. He could see tears forming in Momo's eyes. Now, that really wasn't fair, she _knew_ he was a sucker for girls who cried, especially when it was her who was turning on the waterworks. What had she expected? She was practically his sister in all but blood and name. He couldn't help himself, he just had to say ye—

Wait a minute, wait a damn minute! Was he a Taichou or wasn't he? He could stay strong, he had to! All right, all he had to do was calm down, think of a good excuse, and graciously present it with every sign of deepest regret and sorrow. That should be enough to get rid of them, at least for an hour or so while he hastily located one of the other Taichous and switched patrol schedules with them. Then he'd really have a fool-proof, bona-fide excuse to get out of the nightmare his self-proclaimed saviors were planning for him.

Slanting his eyes oh-so-very-casually away from the disappointed faces in front of him, (_must not let them see weakness, must not!_) he stated simply, "I just don't have the time to do what you're suggesting. And besides, isn't there someone else who'd be better suited for the role? I must be your last resort. Surely Unohana-taichou would be happy to preside, or perhaps Soi Fon-taichou…"

His stomach sank slightly as they shook their heads no.

"Sorry, Taichou," Matsumoto said, not looking sorry at all. "Seireitei regulations state that a visiting party to the Real World whose numbers exceed six members, for reasons other than Hollow elimination, i.e. recreation, must have a chaperone to accompany them. This chaperone must also be of at least equal rank to the highest-ranking member of the party, and cannot be included in the party him or herself. As Unohana-taichou and Soi Fon-taichou are both coming as part of the Women's Association, that rules them out for the role. And all other taichous are either unavailable or too sickly to make the journey, limiting the number of eligible people of suitable rank to one person—namely, you." She grinned slyly at him, pushing forward the latest edition of the Seireitei Regulation Book.

"What? Since when is _that_ a rule!" exclaimed Hitsugaya, flipping through the pages frantically.

"Well, ever since the Women's Association took that unscheduled beach trip, and the local humans complained of mutant watermelons," stated Momo sheepishly. "The new Central 46 decided it would be more prudent if uninvolved chaperones were to accompany any groups heading to the Real World for a vacation, just as an extra precaution, you see."

"Yes, Taichou! And so we have chosen you to be our chaperone! No one can doubt your integrity and suitability for the job!" said Matsumoto happily.

"You're only saying that because you know I can't control the lot of you, so you'll have virtually free rein once we get there," grumbled Hitsugaya.

"Exactly, Taichou! It's a perfect set-up. Now just say yes and in two weeks we'll be ready to go," said Matsumoto, not-so-subtly urging him to capitulate. "We can even pack your bags for you and everything, you don't have to do a thing. After all, the paperwork's been taken care of—"

"Oh, really, Matsumoto?" he sarcastically interrupted.

"Uh-huh. I'll dump all of our paperwork for that week on Nanao-chan, and she'll have her drones finish it up. Those Eighth Division workers can be really dedicated, you know."

"The answer's still no, Matsumoto. Just cancel the trip. I'm not coming with you," said Hitsugaya, exasperated with his fukutaichou's scheming.

"But Shiro-kun!" protested Momo. "We can't cancel this trip! It's absolutely necessary for Rukia-chan's wedding!"

"That's Hitsugaya-taichou to you, Hinamori. And I don't see how this vacation that you dreamed up is 'absolutely necessary' for Kuchiki-san's wedding," he crossly stated, fast losing his patience. "So far as I can tell, she and Abarai-taichou are completely absorbed in each other, and separating them would be classified as torture, not as help."

"But Taichou! Surely you know that she has to go and pick out her wedding trousseau, and register for gifts, and have a bachelorette party! And she certainly can't do those things here, not when half her friends are in the Real World, including two of her bridesmaids _and_ her maid of honor! And she certainly can't have a bachelorette party without the rest of us from Soul Society! So obviously the most convenient thing for everyone to do is rendezvous in the Real World for a week or so before the wedding," Matsumoto stated, sounding like the very voice of sweet reason.

"Yes, Shiro-kun," agreed Momo. "Besides, this'll give Kuchiki-taichou some space to finish all the preparations for the wedding without Yachiru-san getting under foot. Why, just last week she completely wrecked the gazebo he was setting up on the clan's estate!"

"And distance will be good for the two love-birds. Renji-kun and Rukia-chan are driving each other crazy right now, since Rukia-chan is desperately trying to get every single detail perfect, and Renji-kun's frantically trying his best to prove that he's still worthy of her by being even more obsessive-compulsive than she is. A little breathing space will remind the both of them why they're getting married in the first place," stated Matsumoto emphatically.

"I don't care. I'm still not going," Hitsugaya stubbornly replied.

Matsumoto and Momo exchanged glances before turning to look straight at him.

_Uh-oh_, he thought. _That_ can't _be good…_

"I'm sorry to have to resort to this, Taichou, but you really leave us no choice," Matsumoto stated gravely. Pulling out an official-looking paper from her waistband, she began to imperiously recite: "I have solemnly agreed not to renege on my official duty as acting chaperone for the Women's Association 'Operation Bachelorette' party. I have agreed to accompany said group on their authorized trip to the Real World, and will not break my word under any circumstances. If I do so, I submit myself to the penalty of eating an eight-course meal specially prepared by Inoue Orihime with the aid of Matsumoto Rangiku. Signed," here she paused for dramatic effect, "_Hitsugaya Toushirou, Taichou of the Tenth Division_."

"When did I sign that?" he screamed disbelievingly, staring at the familiar signature on the evil document. _Could Matsumoto have forged…? No, surely even she has higher standards than that_, he thought.

"Really, Taichou, you ought to pay more attention to what you're given to sign. I just slipped this into the pile of paperwork you were tackling yesterday. And now…" she smiled tauntingly, "…we have _leverage_."

Flabbergasted, he turned to Momo, who was blushing with embarrassment, but looked straight at him, stonily resolved. "I'm sorry, Hitsugaya-kun. But this is important," she said quietly.

"I can't believe you're resorting to blackmail," he said, rolling his eyes. "Do you really need me that badly?"

"Of course we do, Taichou! No one else would put up with us the way you do," Matsumoto said.

"Please, Hitsugaya-kun!" pleaded Momo. He could feel his objections weakening.

There was a five-second pause. And then: "All right. I'll go."

Matsumoto and Momo began cheering ecstatically, victory won. Hitsugaya merely exhaled loudly, putting his head in his hands. Why, oh, why didn't he run the minute he saw the pair of them in the room? Now he was condemned to keeping the Women's Association in check in the Real World, while they were planning Kuchiki Rukia's bachelorette party. Who knew what Kurotsuchi's daughter would be planning? And how was he ever going to keep Yachiru from destroying the town? Great, just _great_.

As he uttered another despairing groan, Matsumoto stopped celebrating long enough to pat him sympathetically on the back.

"Cheer up, Taichou," she said consolingly. "This'll be good for you, too. It'll let you unwind a little, get rid of that stress you've been bottling up inside you. Oh, don't you give me any of your excuses, Taichou," she said in warning, just as Hitsugaya opened his mouth to protest. "I can tell when something's wrong with you, and hopefully this trip'll help fix the problem."

"Yes, Shiro-kun," agreed Momo, all pretenses of respect dropped now that the battle was won. "You need to relax and get some fresh air. You've spent too much time working recently, and I can tell you're not getting much sleep. Besides," she said, brightening as a thought occurred to her, "you can go and visit Karin-chan. I'm sure she can get you to laugh. She can always get you to laugh."

"Ah, yes! Karin-chan is sure to cheer you up…_right_, Tai-i-i-ichou?" said Matsumoto, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

"MATSUMOTO!" yelled Hitsugaya. "I've told you a million times! There is nothing between me and Kurosaki!"

"Of course not, Taichou! We were referring to Karin-chan, not Ichigo-kun," said his fukutaichou, deliberately misunderstanding him. "You shouldn't get her confused with her brother; she's so much prettier, after all, and far smarter, too."

"I wasn't talking about _Kurosaki_, I was talking about Kuro—oh, just get back to your work! It's pointless explaining that Karin and I are just friends," he said, slightly red in the face, from anger or embarrassment Matsumoto couldn't tell, but she highly suspected it was the latter.

Grinning, she continued.

"Did you hear that, Hinamori? He called her 'Karin' so casually! My, my, my, they_ do_ get along so well, don't they? And they make such a cute couple, too! Well, at least they would if Taichou would smile more," she said, putting her hands to her face to exaggerate her own smile.

Momo giggled as Matsumoto continued rhapsodizing about Karin's attributes, moving on to describe her physical assets: "And have you noticed how much she's matured, Taichou? She's definitely blossomed into a beautiful young woman, hasn't she? With that pretty smile and raven hair. Why, all the boys in her town must be—"

And suddenly she stopped, noticing the abrupt drop of temperature in the room.

"They must be _what_, Matsumoto?" her taichou asked, frigidly.

"N-nothing, Taichou," she hastily recanted. "I was just kidding around, you know."

"Good. Because that's my close friend you're talking about, and I wouldn't appreciate you spreading false rumors about her," bit out Hitsugaya. "Karin isn't some romantic fool who'd fall blindly for a guy, no matter how many were chasing her. She'd pick somebody worthy of her, and she'd definitely tell me if she found someone like that."

"I know that," Matsumoto said, seriously. But then reverting to her light-hearted bantering, she cheekily continued, "But you're sounding awfully possessive, Taichou. Almost like her father—wait, wait! Her grandfather would be more accurate, especially with your hair coloring!"

Momo's answering peal of laughter could be heard from across the building, as well as Matsumoto's shrieks and Hitsugaya's irate voice as she agilely dodged the wadded up paper balls heading her way.

All in all, it was just another normal day for the Tenth Division office.

* * *

**ii.**

* * *

Hitsugaya sighed as he made his way through the halls, walking towards the Thirteenth Division office. He couldn't believe the mess that he'd gotten himself into. Oh, well. He'd just have to deal with it, like usual.

_And it's true that this is the perfect excuse to go and see Karin_, his mind whispered. _That more than makes up for the hassle of baby-sitting Matsumoto and the others_.

He couldn't help but smirk at this thought. Who'd have known that _Matsumoto_ of all people would be the reason for an unscheduled jaunt to the Real World? He'd have to thank her—after he survived the trip, of course. It had been quite a while since he'd last visited (five months, three weeks, two days, and…six hours? Yes, six. But who was keeping track, anyway?), and he relished the opportunity to talk with Karin face to face. He'd sent a couple of letters, via Urahara, but he didn't trust the man to not go through his mail, so it wasn't as if he could actually include any pertinent details in them. And her replies were equally…not impersonal, but more…light-hearted. Yes, that was the word. Light-hearted. They never discussed anything serious in the letters, just the normal day-to-day events. He treasured them anyway, but he had yet to find the opportunity to talk to her about the dreams.

Yes, those annoying dreams that had been haunting his mind at night and stalking his thoughts during the day. Honestly, he didn't know _what_ to make of them. Did the appearance of a dark castle in his inner world signal a change in his future? Was it a premonition of some cataclysmic event? And who on earth was the owner of the voice he could just make out before waking up? It sounded so…familiar. Like someone he should know anywhere…

He scowled. It was so frustrating! Like a song stuck in his head, with just the melody playing, and no words and no title to help him figure out which song it was. And it _wouldn't go away_. It was like his brain was tuned into this one particular song, metaphorically speaking. And it was driving him insane.

He paused thoughtfully. Maybe he shouldn't tell Karin about the dreams at all. It would probably just make her worry, and besides, it was galling to admit that he had a problem he couldn't solve by himself. He scowled again. Knowing Karin, she'd most likely needle him mercilessly before giving him her take on the subject. But then…that was what best friends did, didn't they? They told each other their problems, and helped each other figure them out. _It's like a rule or something_, he thought. _So I guess I've got no choice; I'd definitely want her to tell me if something was bothering her, and there's no way I'd let her keep a secret like this one._

Nodding to himself, decision made, he continued on his way to Thirteenth Division, to collect Third Seat Kotetsu Kiyone's signature, and get approval from Ukitake-taichou for his subordinate to go on the trip. She was the last member on his list, and he was looking forward to a quick training session afterwards to finish off his day and help clear his mind.

Arriving at Ukitake's office right after his eardrums were shattered by Kiyone's squeal of excitement, he lightly tapped on the door, waiting for Ukitake's quiet reply before entering the room.

"Ah, Toushirou-kun," said Ukitake, looking up from his book. "I wasn't expecting you today. How are you doing?"

"Just fine, thank you," Hitsugaya murmured, holding out the approval sheet at the same time. Ukitake took it and quickly scanned it, raising his brows in surprise when he got to the end.

"You're chaperoning the Women's Association? Willingly?" Ukitake asked, incredulously.

"Not quite, but that's the official version, and I'm just doing what I'm told," stated Hitsugaya, rolling his eyes.

Ukitake grinned at the younger Taichou's exasperation. "Ah, I'm sorry, Toushirou-kun. I would chaperone them myself, but my lungs have been acting up again, and Kiyone-chan and Sentaro-kun have forbidden me to go. But the change of scenery should do you some good; you've been too cooped up in your office as of late."

Hitsugaya frowned slightly. "Why is everyone always telling me that? I feel fine," he grumbled in annoyance.

"They're just concerned for you, Toushirou-kun. I would take it as a compliment. Many of the other officers worry for you, you know. It concerns even us taichous that someone so young should bear the burden of so many responsibilities. It's not that we doubt your capability to handle them, of course. It's just that having you take a break once in a while makes us worry less," explained Ukitake patiently. "We want you around for a long time, after all."

Slightly gratified, Hitsugaya bowed once before heading to the door, stopping and stiffening abruptly when Ukitake gave his parting remark, "And do say hello to Karin-chan for me when you visit her, will you? It's been nearly a year since I've last seen her."

Turning back, Hitsugaya gave a short nod in the affirmative before making his way out of the suddenly stuffy room, eager to get away from Ukitake's distinctly knowing expression.

_Why do they ALWAYS assume that there's something going on between us?_ he agonized silently. _We're friends_. Just_ friends._

And he walked quickly down the corridors, hunching his shoulders in an attempt to ignore all the suggestions and expectations being leveled at him, wondering if Karin suffered from the same innuendos. Shaking his head, he decided not to dwell on it; after all, he really needed to get the paperwork for the trip filed. And then afterwards…he could go and relax for a bit. Looking forward to a break from all the hectic activity of the day, he strode more quickly towards his own office, a faint smirk on his face and an eager gleam in his eye.

* * *

**iii.**

* * *

He stood alone in an empty clearing, located some distance away from the Tenth Division training grounds. It was mid-afternoon, and the sun shown down brightly on the verdant grass and wild plant life growing in the field. However, the shadows formed by a few tall trees provided a sharp contrast to all that golden glowing. In addition, the grass had yet to cover deep gouges present in the stony earth, and moss could not quite hide the wide, jagged cuts on some of the tree trunks, hinting that the cheerful little clearing had witnessed violence. The sound of slow, steadily moving water echoed off the rough rock walls enclosing the vaguely circular space, indicating a nearby stream, but other than that, it was completely silent, as if even the animals hesitated to disturb the place. After all, it was the domain of a dragon.

And he was present now, resting within the lean, muscled frame of a white-haired boy clothed in simple black.

Breathing in and out, Hitsugaya concentrated on the unsheathed sword in his hands, slowly going through the movements of a basic exercise, stretching his muscles and warming up his body. His eyes were closed, sea-green orbs hidden from the outside world, concentration furrowing his brow lightly and thinning his mouth into a firm line. His even, graceful movements belied his skill, and the familiarity with which he performed the maneuvers suggested his experience. But something about the way he held the sword…it showed his power, fearsome and vast. Everything about him suggested absolute control and confidence.

Suddenly his eyes opened, that shocking teal blazing forth. And his movements switched from slow and even to blindingly swift, the sword forming a silver arc, cutting rapidly through the air, all that slumbering power bursting free, free, free. Narrowing his eyes, he stepped into the familiar pattern, one perfected through decades of practice. He sparred intimately with an invisible opponent, his sword a blur of white.

Breath in, breath out. Step, sidestep, cut. Draw back, hold steady, then—attack! Thrust forward, parry, block. Breath out, breath in. Step, dodge, weave under, move aside…wait for it, wait for it—there! An opening! Slice, counter, step, and thrust. Inhale, exhale. Step, jump, kick. Exhale, inhale. Watch the form there, keep the footing steady. Whirl around, sword at the ready, slash downwards, then step back. Feel the sun and shadows dance across his face, the grass and dirt shift beneath his feet, the wind ruffle his hair. Feel the pull of muscle, the sweat on his skin, the blood rushing through him, the familiar weight of his sword in his hands. Fight, defend, protect what's precious to him. Never give an inch. Then thrust forward, his sword a straight line, aimed at an imaginary foe's heart. Stand still for a second, then repeat the pattern. And repeat. And repeat again, until the sun is mellow and hazy orange instead of blazing yellow, until the shadows grow and leap and fill the clearing.

Push himself until all that he knows, all that exists for him is the sword in his hand, the dragon in his soul. Until the worries and stress of his life have been torn to shreds. Until the dreams are not merely forgotten, but erased completely, and all thoughts of a dark castle and a haunting voice have been pushed out of his mind.

At least until he stops, and they come creeping out of the shadows. The black castle calling him to reach it, to discover its secrets. The voice compelling him to listen.

Groaning, he sheathed his sword and cradled his head in his hands. He had to stop this; he was driving himself insane! They were just dreams: inconsequential, insignificant. Better to think of more useful things. Getting up, he shunpo'd out of the clearing, running faster than the wind until he reached the edge of a nearby cliff. Sighing, he sat down with a soft thump, letting his feet dangle over the edge. He turned his troubled gaze out towards a glorious sunset, formed of delicate pinks and blurry oranges, with the deepening shades of night making their appearance, wistful violets and shadowy blues. And as the sun slowly lowered, and day faded into night, he let himself relax in the memories the scene before him evoked. Sunsets had always reminded him of both endings and beginnings, and it occurred to him that his life was composed of nothing but these.

He thought of his shy, gentle sister sharing watermelons with him, of his grandmother running a comb through his unruly hair, of worry-free days chatting with Jidanbou, stuffing his face with ame-natto, and playing soccer by himself in empty fields. He smiled a little at the last image; Hinamori had insisted he join the local team, so that he could make some friends in their neighborhood. That had been a disastrous plan, as he'd been as outcast and alone as ever. However, he had to concede that there had been some good things about it: he'd found that he loved the game, and learned how to play like a demon, discovering that skill could always shut up even the most loudmouthed of bullies. His signature back-flip kick had earned him respect, if not friends. Besides, playing alone hadn't been so bad, as it was preferable to pitting himself against players who weren't a challenge at all. He smirked. Hinamori would scold him for being too arrogant if she could hear his thoughts now.

He gazed lazily at a passing cloud, its shape reminding him of a sword. He moved on from memories of Junrin'an, and thought instead of entering the Shinigami Academy, graduating the top of his class, and becoming taichou. He thought of naps in his office, bantering with Matsumoto, and taking that first glorious sip of coffee after working all night on forms and papers and official documents. He thought of visits to the Real World, killing Hollows, keeping his subordinates in check, and bonding with them and the crazy humans who lived in Karakura.

Grinning to himself now, he thought of all the loud, colorful, insane people he knew and counted as comrades and (reluctantly in some cases) friends. He started sifting through a collage of random memories. He remembered how Hinamori had pouted when he finally started growing, reaching his current height of 176 cm (a/n: around 5'9") and towering over her.

He frowned when he recalled Matsumoto teasing him about how the female Academy students had switched from labeling him as the "Cutest Taichou" to voting him as the "Sexiest Taichou" instead, and scowled even more as he recalled the hordes of rabid fan girls trailing after him and generally being a nuisance.

He thought of Ukitake-taichou _still_ giving him candy and Kyouraku-taichou giving him advice on how to woo women.

He thought of Yachiru drawing all over his paperwork and Unohana-taichou forcing her to apologize.

He remembered (unfortunately) Abarai, Madarame, Ayesegawa, and Hisagi dragging him along with them to a bar, resulting in his first hangover.

He recalled Kira nervously asking him for permission to date Hinamori (that had been…weird, to say the least).

He thought of Rukia-san organizing a huge snow ball fight including practically one-half of Soul Society, and convincing him to join her team.

He thought of Orihime-san trading recipes with Matsumoto, and giving him a potted plant, to "help liven up your office," she had smiled.

He rolled his eyes at the memory of Kurosaki's perpetually scowling face, yelling at him and hypocritically accusing him of being an idiot.

He thought of snow ball fights and sand castle contests and watching fireworks. He thought of lazy conversations and exasperating antics and bawdy jokes. He remembered hard-won battles fighting side by side, and trusting the person next to him to watch his back.

He thought of what it felt like to look around one day at all these people and realize that he had _friends_. People who didn't just respect him, but loved him and supported him. It had been shocking to say the least, but oddly pleasant. It was nice to not be alone. It was nice to be able to acknowledge that even if playing soccer by yourself was better than having nothing to do at all, it still _sucked_.

As the sun became a glowing half-circle fast disappearing below the horizon, Hitsugaya let himself think of a soccer game played with an actual team, of a gray railing overlooking other sunsets, and of a laughing, black-haired girl who smiled as if she could see the future and liked what she would become. A girl he counted as first among his friends.

Kurosaki Karin.

As best friends went, he knew she was an unlikely choice for him. But really, what could he do? The minute he'd stopped her soccer ball, fate had practically painted a mark on his back and told her to use it for target practice. They'd been drawn to each other; that was the only way to explain it. After all, she'd managed to find him twice in one day, intriguing him with her apparent spiritual powers and then cajoling him to play soccer for her team of ragtag friends, who'd been slightly annoying but mostly amusing, and were nowhere near as interesting as her.

The next day he'd followed her, trying to identify that mysterious feel to her reiatsu. She was powerful, more powerful than a human should be, but then again this was Karakura, home to the biggest circus of spiritual freaks. So he'd listened to his instincts and traced her unique spiritual energy to a nearby park…and was promptly discovered by Matsumoto—even then his fukutaichou had been teasing him and labeling his feelings as something more than platonic. He'd left in a huff after that, but not before sparing one last look at the human girl.

He'd put her out of his mind, never expecting to see her again, when she showed up at the railing once more, panting from exertion and glaring at him accusingly. He couldn't help but admire her self-assurance and her persistence in trying to recruit him. He'd answered her with a question, keeping his responses deliberately vague as he'd stared at the sunset and saw only the past. Then his phone had started beeping, signaling yet another Hollow to take care of. Turning away to track it down, he was stopped suddenly by a hand on his arm and a sharp, penetrating stare.

He remembered it, that look of fierce concentration, compelling him to listen to her and to not go that way. He could feel her reiatsu as well, flaring sharply like a beacon before returning back to normal. She'd had unrivaled control over her spiritual energy, even back then… And while he was staring at her, trying to figure her out, she'd let go and stepped away, averting her gaze and innocently trying to explain why she'd suddenly grabbed him. He could see through her excuses; she was definitely hiding something.

The next day, he'd shown up at her soccer game, the one she'd been pestering him about, determined to talk to her and get to the bottom of things, to solve the mystery around her that had been puzzling him. But before he could get the chance to speak to her alone, he realized that she'd been hurt while playing, and he could see the bruise on her leg, the shadow of pain in her eyes.

But he also saw the determination to win, to defend her territory, and to protect what belonged to her, despite the pain. He could see that this was a girl who didn't cry or break or lose control, not ever. And so, intrigued by the resolve he'd seen in those eyes, he'd stepped in to help. Just a game, he told himself. Just a game. But he'd let her kick the winning goal, because it wasn't just a game to her. This was a test, a test to see if she could be as strong as she needed to be. He understood that, and so he'd passed the ball and stepped back, watching her take that victory and prove that strength.

After the others were celebrating their triumph, she'd walked over to him to thank him, and he took the opportunity to question her and get some concrete answers. But like always, life interfered and a Hollow showed up. He'd been shocked when, instead of running away, she'd tried to fight it. He'd been more shocked afterwards to discover that she could see him while in his shinigami form, only to understand once she'd explained that she was Kurosaki's sister. No wonder she was so strong. But he could see her strength struggling against doubt and fear for her brother, so he couldn't help but comfort her, and soon enough, she'd smiled that carefree, confident smile at him. Matsumoto had appeared then, and they'd exchanged the usual introductions, when Karin had promptly repaid his kindness by patting him on the head and teasing him, causing him to lose his temper spectacularly.

He should have seen that as a warning.

The next time he'd seen her was at Soul Society, at the victory ball held in honor of the end of the war. He'd hated every minute of it; the music was too loud, the food was gone by the time he'd escaped from well-wishers, and the people were rude and pushy, congratulating him on having fought so well while simultaneously asking for favors. He'd retreated to an out-of the-way balcony to get away from the crowd, and found her staring up at the night sky. He'd stood there for a moment, debating whether or not he should just walk away (he couldn't really expect her to remember him) when she'd caught sight of him and promptly waved.

Looking away, he'd been about to leave when she'd called him a midget. Now he really couldn't stand for that, could he? So he'd turned around to yell at her…and an hour later, he found himself glued to her side as she animatedly talked to him, and was surprised to realize that he actually _liked _listening to her. She wasn't looking to use him or fawn over him, not like the others did; she genuinely wanted to spend time with him because she liked his company. It was refreshing, to say the least. So he'd leaned against the banister and listened to her talk, noting with faint surprise how her eyes were not black as he'd originally supposed, but a dark, mysterious gray. It suited her, he thought, suited that carefree smile of hers. And as those gray eyes sparkled at him, he'd simply stated, "It's good to see you haven't changed."

For some reason, he found himself wishing she never would.

So a few weeks later, he'd volunteered for Hollow duty around Karakura, never admitting to himself that he was hoping to see _her_. But see her he did, and the next thing he knew, he was constantly on the lookout for any excuse to visit her, and inordinately pleased whenever she was able to visit him, even if she found inappropriate uses for the paperwork. And he found himself relaxing more, laughing more, seeing the world through her eyes, and finding he liked the view.

Within six months, he could honestly say she was his best friend, the only person who could understand him without saying a word. He'd known it when they'd stood at their railing, watching yet another sunset, and he'd asked her what she thought best defined her.

She'd smiled at him, and said, "Being a sister."

He'd been shocked into silence, and in the quiet that followed, she began to explain herself:

"Being Yuzu's sister taught me what it means to love someone more than you love yourself, to want that person to be happy and safe no matter what, and knowing that you'd do anything to protect her. She also taught me to accept who I am without any apologies, that it didn't matter if I wasn't as pretty and gentle as she was, or that I couldn't cook or clean like she could. She loved me for being me, for being different, and nothing would ever change that.

"It's hard having a sister, because even though I want to make sure she never gets hurt, I have to step back and let her make her own mistakes. I have to believe in her, and trust that even if her heart gets broken or her dreams don't come true, she'll be strong enough to keep on going. Doesn't mean that I won't kick the snot out of anyone who messes with her, of course," she said with a grin. Letting it fade, she watched the sky once more, quietly continuing.

"But since I know what it's like to _have_ a sister, I know what it's like to _be_ a sister. For Ichi-nii, I learned what it meant to let someone else protect me, to be the one who held that person's heart. It was hard, you know, letting him go off and fight. I knew that I was too weak to do anything to help, and that I'd only make him worry if I tried, so I held back and kept his secrets, letting him fight for me, for all of us.

"I know what it's like to be the protector, and I know what it's like to be the one protected. And because I know, I have both kinds of strength, the one that lets me fight for my family, and the one that lets me wait for them to come back home. So yeah, being a sister is what defines me, because it's made me strong enough for anything."

Saying that, she'd lapsed into silence, and he'd realized that in some ways, she was stronger than he was. And he admired her for it; the same way he admired her for her biting sarcasm, her sharp mind, and her determination to achieve her goals. He also admired her fierce loyalty to her friends and her undeniable (if exasperated) love for her family. There was nobody else like her, and he was proud to be her friend.

He just wished he didn't miss her so much.

Sighing, he looked up at the now darkened sky, staring intently at the stars for one more second before getting up, making his way back to his quarters. Once there, he'd probably finish up a few stray reports, go over some of the plans for the trip, maybe even read a book. And of course, he'd write a letter to Karin, telling her that he'd see her in two weeks, and to be prepared to lose to him at soccer again.

Imagining her scowl when she'd read that line, he smirked a little and felt the slight ache in his heart disappear, eagerness taking its place as he looked forward to seeing her once more, black castles and mysterious voices completely forgotten.

* * *

**Endnote: All right, I think that should be the last of the super-long chapters…well, probably not. I can't seem to write anything shorter than 4,000 words. XD **

**Sorry for taking so long on all the back-ground stuff, but I really wanted to show the parallels between Karin and Hitsugaya's lives, and just generally show what a normal day is like for the two of them. But from now on, the plot should be going a little faster, so thank you for sticking it out. :D**

**For anyone who's wondering, the last chapter title was taken from "She Walks in Beauty," by Lord Byron. Kudos to anyone who guessed properly! :) **

**Hopefully, I'll post the next chapter soon, so I'll see you then. Please review if you can! I'd like to reach fifteen reviews! :D**


	4. When All Around the Wind Doth Blow

**Author Note: Hello again, our lovely readers! CrazyAce'n'PokerFace proudly present Chapter 4 of Midnight Snow, which is dedicated specially to Sparanda, oOoHKoOo, and XX825N12319W. **

**We'd like to say thank you to all of you who are reading this story, especially to those who have also alerted, reviewed, or added this story to their favorites. The following is a list of these wonderful people, to whom we owe much gratitude: Spockie, anna1594, Turtle-chan in Blue, , Tharrow, ticking-clocks8, XX825N12319W, oOoHKoOo, Red-Haired-Jack, NarayaEdea, ichilover3, Revanent, Life is Full Of Regrets, Tasogare X, Gray Tasare, Ash-chan13, Shizuku700, lilithchild, Auditory Eden, irsistort, Soul-Searcher16, ScienceAngel, xkaleidoscopex, Sparanda, ReaperDuckling, Reiuko, BlueNekoChan, Thelanblossom, Maii04, lazyguy90, omnipotent Porunga, Switmikan74, WinterMission, louisewattis, and spinachmuncher. Thank you to them and to everyone who's stuck with us thus far. And now, on with the story!**

**WARNING: Upcoming warnings of RenRuki and IchiHime. Please feel free to criticize my writing, but not the pairings. Thank you.**

**Normal = prose, **_**italics**_** = thoughts or inner conversations **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. They belong solely to Tite Kubo. However, if there was an alternate universe where I do own Bleach, I will promptly give my left arm to switch with my other self. I also do not own any of the chapter titles. Cookies for anyone who guesses which poems they're from. :)**

* * *

**Chapter Four: When All Aloud the Wind Doth Blow**

* * *

**i.**

* * *

She walked once more in a black castle made of dreams and darkness, but this time silence did not stalk her steps. This time, the wind howled a wordless cry, blowing through the hallways until it found her and swept her along its fierce current. She was running, running, running to get away from it, from the roaring in her ears. She ran through countless rooms, down narrow passages, up flights of never-ending stairs, seeking refuge from the storm within the castle. But everywhere she turned, the wind followed her relentlessly, until soon she found herself running with it, not from it. It pushed her, pulled her, _dragged_ her through the corridors and up into the west-most tower, so that she stood once more on that wide, exposed balcony.

And met the black eyes of a storm-dragon made of wind and clouds and boundless power.

"What do you want!" she screamed, struggling to make her voice louder than the tempest. "What do you want from me?"

She was walking into the storm now, shielding her face against the stinging wind, moving forward, forward, forward, until she reached the edge of the balcony, and climbed onto the railing. She pulled herself upright, standing thousands of feet above the ground, standing right before the dragon, trembling from cold, but not from fear. Even though she could fall to her death on the icy plain below, she was not afraid. Her dragon would not let her fall.

The roaring was louder now, louder than the crash of thunder, than the howl of hurricanes. But now she could hear the words within the wind, and they came as if from the eye of the storm, from its very heart. The voice sounded as soft as the whispers of a summer breeze, and it spoke, saying quietly, "Karin. Karin, will you listen? Will you hear me speak my name?"

And Karin opened her mouth to reply, only to have the wind push her from behind, causing her to slip and—she was falling! She was falling down, down, _down_, faster and faster! She could see the ground coming up to meet her, she could feel the air rushing by her, and she could hear the desperate beating of her heart, its rapid pulse nearly drowning out the dragon's words: "Karin, can you hear me?"

"KUROSAKI KARIN!"

And she bolted upright, bumping her elbow against the side of her desk, waking to find herself in the middle of her history class…with everyone staring at her and giggling. The teacher was glaring at her, clearly incensed that she had fallen asleep during his lecture. After she muttered a quick apology, he sighed, and simply said, "Since you're usually one of my most attentive students, I'll let it slide this time, Kurosaki-san. But don't let it happen again." And he turned once more to the blackboard as Karin breathed a sigh of relief, then proceeded to take notes while grumbling to herself. Really, these dreams were becoming a problem. At least today was a Friday, and she had the weekend to sleep in.

After the school bell rang, signaling the end of the day, Karin pushed her way through the crowd, heading straight for the group's usual meeting place. Blinking in the sudden glare of the afternoon sun, she looked for her gang and found them standing around the tree in the front lawn. Jinta and Yuzu were exchanging gooey looks as Donny took pictures and Kazuya criticized Jinta's wardrobe choices, with Ryohei and Pinta laughing in agreement. Placing a hand on Jinta's arm to keep him from totally decimating the other four boys, Yuzu then turned around, looking for Karin. She started waving frantically once she caught sight of her twin, her smile threatening to break her face in two. Karin waved back and ran the last few steps, letting Yuzu give her a quick hug, then high-fiving the rest of her friends and exchanging nods of acknowledgment with Jinta.

"So, Kurosaki, heard you fell asleep in Mugiwara's class," the redhead said, raising his brows in a question.

"Yeah. Stupid of me, I know, but I pulled a late night working on a project, so it's no big deal," replied Karin, shrugging it off.

"Are you sure, Karin? You seem to be losing more and more sleep lately," Yuzu said worriedly. "That can't be good for your health."

"Come on, Yuzu-chan! Like Kurosaki would drop dead just because of an attack of insomnia. As if!" scoffed Ryohei. The others nodded in agreement.

Ryohei continued, "Now are we going to head over to Urahara Shoten or what? I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving!"

Karin was about to make a teasing remark about Ryohei's black hole of a stomach, when she sensed the reiatsu of a Hollow a kilometer or so to the south. She and Jinta exchanged knowing looks, before turning to the others and making their excuses.

Yuzu just said, "Stay safe, and don't be late."

Donny merely rolled his eyes in reply, and said, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now go off and do your thing, and meet up with us later. But don't expect us to save any of Tessai-san's food for you." The others grumbled in agreement and gave half-hearted waves, already walking towards their destination. After years of hanging out with Karin, they were used to her disappearing at odd times, usually when there was some commotion in the distance. They knew better than to ask questions.

And as they left, Ryohei shouted, "Tell Ururu-chan that I'll be waiting for her!"

Jinta just shook his head at that statement and muttered, "Doesn't he know it's hopeless? She's nicknamed him 'Stalker-san.'"

Running effortlessly in the direction of the Hollow, Karin grinned and replied, "He's too infatuated to care." Turning to more serious matters, she said, "This Hollow seems to be a bit stronger than usual, but I think we can still get there and take it down before the assigned shinigami shows up."

That said, she increased her speed, trusting Jinta to keep up with her. Catching sight of the Hollow in the distance, she recognized the familiar pigtails and reiatsu of a now nineteen-year-old Ururu, who was getting ready to take it on. She and Jinta arrived just as Ururu landed the first punch, then nimbly dodged the Hollow's angry swing, gracefully landing on the roof behind it. Jinta then attacked with his baseball bat, causing a resounding _crack!_ to reverberate through the air as metal made contact with bone. No sooner had the Hollow's mask broken than three more Hollows appeared, all of them hungry for human souls. Jinta, Ururu, and Karin grinned at each other for a second before they split up, one person per Hollow, just the way they liked it.

Karin inhaled deeply, gathering her reiatsu in her arms and legs, forming a thin layer which she sharpened until the edges of her limbs were covered by knife-like reiatsu. She took a running jump at her Hollow, using her momentum to land a roundhouse kick on its arm, cleanly breaking it. The Hollow roared in pain, and swiftly tried to retaliate by squashing her with its other fist, but she'd already moved behind it, this time punching it right in the ankle. As the Hollow fell forward, Karin gathered her reiatsu for one last strike, letting the power build within her, until suddenly—

She heard her dragon roar.

Her reiatsu slipped out of her control.

Wind raged through the street, circling Karin and the Hollow like a miniature tornado. Karin could feel her reiatsu fighting her and feeding the winds, and she struggled desperately to get it back under control. But the storm just kept building and building, and the winds grew stronger and stronger, a maelstrom of air and spirit energy raging wildly around her. She fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around herself, trying frantically to contain her reiatsu. She was locked in a battle of opposing forces, caught between the winds and her own rogue spirit energy, until finally she reached out with her mind and managed to get a tenuous hold on her reiatsu, pulling it back towards her.

The built-up energy struck her like a blow, and she gasped in pain as she directed its flow down to her hands, releasing it in a burst of power right at the Hollow's head. The Hollow died on impact, and dissipated into nothingness. Karin knelt there, shuddering, holding her arms around herself as if to keep her reiatsu within her. She could feel it begin to grow again, threatening to go rogue once more. In panic, she clamped down on it, extinguishing it completely for a moment. Afterwards she slowly released her hold on it, noting the intense pressure within her had subsided, and her power levels had gone back to normal. She breathed a sigh of relief before clutching her head as a sudden migraine hit her.

"Karin!" yelled Jinta. He ran over, panting heavily, a cut on his cheek from defeating his own Hollow. Ururu followed silently, not a bruise or a mark on her, but a look of worry on her face nonetheless.

"What's your problem, idiot?" Karin managed to get out, wincing as her head throbbed painfully. Slowly, she managed to stand up and glare at Jinta, taking up a belligerent stance to hide the fact that she was swaying on her feet.

"What's _my_ problem? Don't give me that! What's _your _problem, Karin? Your reiatsu completely disappeared on us! We thought you died!" Jinta yelled furiously.

"Oh, really?" Karin responded sarcastically while frantically thinking up a decent excuse. "Did it never occur to you that I was trying to mask my reiatsu and approach the Hollow from behind? Kami help me, Jinta; I thought your reiatsu-sensing abilities were bad, but I never knew they were _this_ terrible!"

Jinta furrowed his brow in confusion, while Ururu glanced at him before turning back to Karin with a probing look, saying, "Then you're alright, Karin-chan?"

Karin managed to give her a weak smile and said, "'Course I am Ururu. As if a measly Hollow could kill me." Hastily changing the subject, she turned back to a glowering Jinta, asking, "So how much did we get from the bounty on them? I'm running low on cash, and I'm betting that you've still got less than five hundred bucks in the Hanakiri Wedding Fund."

She smiled as her jab had intended result. Jinta's face turned the same shade as his hair, and he shouted, "And whose damn fault is that, Karin? _You're_ the one who insisted on me getting a twenty percent share of all the bounties. Twenty freakin' percent! How is that fair?"

Ururu giggled at his reaction, and stated, "But Jinta-kun, Karin and I are the ones that kill the most Hollows, so of course it's right that we get a bigger cut."

Jinta crossed his arms and grumbled, "Still. At this rate, I'll be able to afford an engagement ring for Yuzu when we're _sixty_."

Karin grinned wickedly, and said, "Exactly."

And she ran down the street towards Urahara Shoten, laughingly sticking her tongue out at Jinta as he and Ururu followed close behind. By the time they got there, the other two had completely forgotten about her little "episode," and Karin was left to worry about it by herself.

What exactly _had_ happened? She'd never lost control of her powers before. In fact, she had even better control than Ichi-nii. Shaking her head to dispel her confusion, she told herself that it was probably just a one-time thing, resulting from recent lack of sleep, and that she'd talk to Urahara-san about it if it happened again. Pushing it to the back of her mind, she pasted a smile on her face as Yuzu stepped out of the shop, holding out water bottles for her and Jinta. Ryohei was following right behind her, a lovesick look on his face as he raced towards Ururu.

"Ururu-chan! The light of my life! How long has it been since I've seen you? You're beauty is still as radiant as ev—"

"Hello, Stalker-san," said Ururu primly, planting her fist firmly in Ryohei's face before walking into the store and greeting the rest of Karin's gang, who were rolling around the floor and laughing.

"Ururu-chan, your strength astounds me! I am a lucky man to have found such a strong woman to spend the rest of my life with," Ryohei said, holding his now-bleeding nose while gazing at Ururu adoringly.

Karin snorted and rolled her eyes. Some things would never change, she supposed. Following Jinta and Yuzu into the store, she waved a hand at Tessai-san and elbowed her friends to get to the food spread out on the table. She was just about to take a bite when a man in a green and white hat stepped into the room, fanning himself and grinning.

"Why, hello there, Yuzu-chan, Karin-chan, and company," he said, nodding at each of them in greeting. "What brings you to my lovely store this day?"

Karin shrugged and said, "Yuzu had to buy some stuff, and the guys wanted to eat and get fat instead of playing soccer," she stated, ignoring her friends' protests. She continued, grinning, "Plus, you still have to pay up. For the part-time jobs _and _the bet."

Urahara sighed in feigned injury, saying, "Karin-chan! How could you? Swindling me out of my life's savings!" Fanning himself dramatically, he added, "But I suppose it's only fair. You _did_ win the bet. But honestly, how could I have predicted that Rukia-chan would punch Renji-kun when he proposed?"

Karin leaned back and replied, "Then you shouldn't have made the bet. Now hand my money over."

Urahara sighed once more, then retreated to one of the back rooms, returning with a wad of cash. Karin slapped her friends' hands away as they tried reaching for the money, and prolonged their torture by proceeding to count it in front of them. Satisfied she'd been given the right amount, she returned to her food, savoring Tessai-san's spicy cooking before being interrupted once more by a cough from Urahara.

"What is it now? Can't you see I'm busy?" she grumbled, as Yuzu and Ururu giggled at her exasperated tone.

"Oh, really? So you don't want _these_?" Urahara said, revealing a few envelopes that he'd kept hidden behind his back.

Karin immediately dropped her chopsticks, and her hands reached out to grab the letters and look them over. She flipped through the small stack, ignoring the ones addressed to Ichi-nii, tossing one from Momo to Yuzu, who squealed in delight, and finally reached the last one, written in neat, familiar handwriting.

_Toushirou_, Karin thought, eagerly opening and pulling it out to read…before she noticed the other occupants of the room, even Tessai-san, staring avidly at her.

"What?" she scowled, stuffing the letter in her pocket.

"Nothing, Kurosaki," said Pinta. "It's just funny seeing you smile like that. Must mean Toushirou sent a letter, huh?"

Karin rolled her eyes and said, "Of course it's from him. Who else can't send letters directly to my house like a normal person?"

The others grinned, and Kazuya said, "Hey, when's he coming to visit again? We haven't seen him for a while."

"Six months and a day," Karin said before she could stop herself. "Not that I'm counting," she muttered as her friends stared at her. "Anyway, I'm not sure when he's coming. I'll tell you after I read the letter."

"All right, then," said Ryohei, looking expectantly at her. When she just stared back, puzzled, he rolled his eyes and said, "Read it already, Kurosaki. Unless you guys have been secretly dating, and that's a love letter you're holding," he finished, his gaze turning sly.

The others started hooting and whistling, but stopped when Karin abruptly stood up and smacked the back of Ryohei's head.

"Idiots!" she exclaimed. "How many times do I have to tell you that we're not dating? Jeez, it's bad enough getting this sort of thing from my dad. I don't need you guys to start on me, too."

"Relax, Kurosaki," said Donny. "We were just joking around."

"Well, it's not funny," Karin muttered, scowling. "I'll read the letter after I get home, when I don't have a bunch of nosy gossip-mongers around, and you'll just have to wait for the news later."

She ignored their groans of protest and stuck her tongue out, then looked at the clock and continued, "Anyway, Yuzu and I have to get going. We promised we'd stop by Hime-nee's house, and then we have to go and pick my brother up from the airport."

Urahara spoke up then, asking them to deliver a letter to Orihime from Rukia. Yuzu happily agreed, and within five minutes they were waving goodbye to the hodgepodge group of exiles and humans dining at Urahara Shoten.

* * *

**ii.**

* * *

As they were walking, Yuzu spoke up: "Karin, I'll be the first person you tell when you and Toushirou-kun start dating, right?"

Spluttering, Karin stopped in her tracks. "Yuzu, I swear, we're _just_ friends. I don't think of him that way. Dating him would be like dating Donny or Pinta or one of the other guys. It would be plain _wrong_."

Making a disbelieving sound, Yuzu countered, "But Karin-chan, he's different from all the other boys. Admit it, he's special to you. You guys are _best_ friends, just like Rukia-nee and Renji-kun were, and look at them now! They're getting married in two weeks. I'm just saying that it could happen to you, too."

"I think hell would freeze over first," said Karin, hunching her shoulders. Seeing Orihime's house, she sped up until she reached the building's staircase, vaulting up the steps two at a time. Her twin followed close behind, getting there shortly afterwards, panting from the effort to keep up with Karin. Glaring at Karin, Yuzu then pressed twice on the doorbell. Within moments, Orihime was opening the door wide, smiling as she saw who her guests were.

"Yuzu-chan! Karin-chan! Come in, come in. I was just starting to make dinner. Here, you just go and sit down, make yourselves comfortable," their brother's girlfriend and almost-sister-in-law insisted, ushering them inside. Yuzu protested, of course, and soon she was joining the healer in the kitchen, and hopefully keeping the menu somewhat tamed. Not that Karin particularly minded Hime-nee's cooking; she knew how to make normal food from years of having Tatsuki over. It was just weird watching her eat the things she made for herself. Shrugging, Karin left them to it and flopped down on the couch, digging up the remote and turning the t.v. on.

"Karin," called Yuzu a few minutes later. She sounded really enthusiastic about something.

"What, Yuzu?" asked Karin absentmindedly.

"We're wondering if we should invite Otou-san over, too. What do you think?" Yuzu asked.

"Sure, Yuzu," replied Karin, not really paying attention, as she was absorbed in watching an episode of Don Kanonji's show. She wondered what the old geezer was up to. Well, she'd probably find out when he dropped in for his yearly visit. Speaking of visits…

Karin pulled out Toushirou's letter and opened it. A few seconds later, she was laughing hysterically as she read his irate message. Exasperatedly, he related the tale of how he'd been conned into chaperoning the Women's Association here in the Real World. He'd get there in a week, and would be staying for just as long. Sitting up, Karin grinned in anticipation. It was rare for him to stay for so long, and she was looking forward to challenging herself and taking him on in a few soccer games. Leaning back on the couch, she tensed when she heard shouts from the kitchen.

"Karin, Rukia-nee and the others are coming to visit!" Yuzu squealed excitedly.

"I know," said Karin, relaxing. "Just read Toushirou's letter. Seems a bit weird though, having her bachelorette party here."

"Karin, it's not just that! They'll get to do do some last-minute shopping and things, take care of a few personal needs, things like that. And it's also just to relax a bit right before the wedding. Besides, since we're her bridesmaids and Hime-nee's her maid of honor, it's our duty to throw her a bachelorette party!" continued her twin, waving Momo's letter around. Orihime was doing the same with Rukia's.

"Let me guess: Matsumoto already has a few suggestions for where to hold it," Karin said suspiciously.

"Yes! How did you know?" replied Yuzu, impressed.

"This scheme has her name written all over it," Karin retorted, walking over to the kitchen to join the other two. "But at least she has a valid reason this time around for visiting. It'll be nice to see everyone else, too."

Hime-nee smiled brightly at her and spoke, "I'm so happy Rukia-chan is coming! I've missed her so much! She wants all of us to go shopping for bridesmaids' dresses, and I know just the store for that."

"Oh, yeah. We need the same style of dresses as bridesmaids," said Karin. It looked like that black dress would have to wait for another occasion. Looking over at her older "sister," Karin continued, "Hime-nee, how is your 'project' going?"

"It's going great!" Orihime exclaimed. "Do you want to see?" Leaving the kitchen, she came back a few minutes later, bringing a scrapbook.

Opening it, she showed them pictures of Renji and Rukia throughout the years: Renji in hippie clothes, his ear being pulled by an irate Rukia. The two of them laughing at the camera, in the middle of a group of friends. A solemn photo, both dressed in shinigami regalia. Rukia, sitting by a sleeping Renji's bedside, holding his bandaged hand. Renji bashfully holding out a bouquet of crushed flowers to Rukia. The two of them staring at each other from across the room, the photo taken without either of them noticing. There were also drawings of Chappy bunny, border patterns resembling Renji's tattoos, excerpts from Rukia's letters to Orihime, their wedding invitation, and other assorted mementos. On the last page was a drawing of a dark-haired girl stepping down from a star, her hand reaching out to a wolf with red fur standing upon a crescent moon. Below it were the words "Love can always reach the stars."

"This is perfect, Hime-nee! Rukia-nee'll love it!" Yuzu gushed.

"Ehehe," giggled Orihime, scratching the back of her head. "You really think so?"

"'Course she will. You're an awesome artist, according to those fancy critics. I mean, you've even got that gallery show coming up. This is the perfect gift for her," Karin stated.

"I sure hope so. It's not finished yet, of course. Ichigo-kun is supposed to bring some more photos with him tonight, and Matsumoto is delivering a few from Kuchiki-taichou," Orihime continued. "Oh, that reminds me! Here, you guys should eat up," she said, placing plates in front of them. "Isshin-san should be coming soon, and we'll leave as soon as he arrives."

"Wait, you invited Otou-san over?" asked Karin incredulously.

"Karin! You said we could! Besides, his van's the only car big enough to fit everyone when we pick Ichigo and the others up at the train station," Yuzu said.

"Ugh. I forgot about that. I can't believe we'll be stuck driving with that group of morons for hours," Karin muttered, digging into her plate.

"Karin! He's our brother! You should act a little more enthusiastic," Yuzu admonished.

"Please. Who wants to have that idiot hanging around? Honestly, Hime-nee, I don't know what you see in him," grumbled Karin.

Orihime only laughed, and the meal passed in pleasant conversation as she and Yuzu planned for the upcoming visit. After they finished eating and started cleaning up, the door swung open, revealing the biggest idiot of them all.

"My lovely daughters! I am here to act as your noble steed! Let us—oof!" he gasped as Karin kicked him.

"Whatever, old man. Let's just get into the van already. C'mon Yuzu, Hime-nee. _I'll _drive," Karin stated, handily plucking the keys from her father's hand.

"My Karin-chan is so strong and yet so violent! Oh, Masaki, at this rate we'll never have raven-haired grandchildren," her father lamented as Yuzu and Orihime tried to comfort him.

"Don't worry, Isshin-san, Toushirou-kun is coming to visit," Orihime said, patting his back as they climbed into the backseat of the van.

"What! My future son-in-law is coming! Karin, you must invite him to stay over!" crowed Isshin.

"No way, Otou-san! And what do you mean, 'don't worry,' Hime-nee? Don't tell me you're on _his_ side now. Why doesn't anyone believe me when I say that there's nothing even _remotely _romantic between us?" said Karin through gritted teeth.

"Say that in twenty years, Karin, and we'll believe you," said her twin cheekily.

Groaning, Karin stared resolutely ahead, deciding to ignore her family. This was going to be one long car ride.

* * *

**iii.**

* * *

An hour later, they were at the train station, sitting by the luggage area, waiting for her brother and his friends to appear…and there they were. Really, with Ichigo's height and hair and loud voice, spotting him was way too easy. Of course, he was trading insults with Ishida, who was as cool and collected as ever. Chad observed them both in amused silence.

"Ichi-nii! Ichi-nii! Over here!" shouted Yuzu, waving happily.

"Hey!" Ichigo said as he reached them, easily blocking their father's attack and punching him aside, then giving Yuzu a hug and Karin a high five. When he got to Orihime, the substitute shinigami merely smiled and said, "Missed me?"

The healer beamed up at him and replied, "Nope. Not even a little bit."

Frowning, Ichigo tilted his head to the side and said, "Why not?_ I_ missed _you_."

"Silly! How can I miss you when you're always with me?" said Orihime, placing a hand over her heart. His eyes softening, Ichigo reached out to take her other hand. Just as he did so, a loud noise startled them both.

"Oh, Masaki! Another one of our daughters will be getting married soon!" shouted Isshin.

Scowling, Ichigo moved to kick him, yelling, "Damn it, old man! We're only twenty-two! Wait until we graduate from college first before you start making your weird plans!"

Everyone else started laughing, and they followed the rapidly moving Kurosakis out into the parking lot, watching Isshin nimbly dodge his son's attacks, and Ichigo chasing wildly after his father.

"They look happy, ne, Karin-chan?" Orihime said, looking at the girl she considered her younger sister. Karin smiled back at her, but Orihime noted a troubled look in her eyes. "Karin-chan—?" she started to ask. But Karin had already moved ahead, asking Chad about life at Tokyo University and grilling Uryuu about their pre-med program. Sighing, the troubled healer could only watch her go, turning to Yuzu. The youngest Kurosaki looked up at her, and the two exchanged the same worried glance.

"Karin's been out of it lately," Yuzu said. "I'm sure it's probably no big deal, but…"

"It will be fine, Yuzu-chan. Don't worry. I'll look into it," Orihime stated. Looking at Karin once more, she privately admitted to the sense of unease she'd felt ever since the young girl had walked into her apartment that evening.

_There's something…different about Karin-chan's reiatsu. And I'm not certain if the change is good,_ Orihime thought to herself.

_I'll have to keep an eye on her._

* * *

**Endnote: And that's chapter four. Coming up in chapter five: Toushirou and Karin finally meet face to face! ^^ **

**The last chapter title was taken from "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost, and a special mention to Sparanda and Auditory Eden for guessing correctly! *applause, applause***

**Please review! :D**


	5. Fluttering and Dancing in the Breeze

**Author Note: Hello again, our lovely readers! CrazyAce'n'PokerFace are here to proudly present Chapter 5 of **_**Midnight Snow**_**. We're really sorry that we weren't able to get this up sooner, as this was SUPPOSED to be posted last week…but life kind of hit us like a train and squashed us flat. T_T In any case, we're sincerely grateful for your patience. Thank you! **

**We'd like to say thank you to all of you who are reading this story, especially to those who have also alerted, reviewed, or added this story to their favorites. The following is a list of these wonderful people, to whom we owe much gratitude: Spockie, anna1594, Turtle-chan in Blue, , Tharrow, ticking-clocks8, XX825N12319W, oOoHKoOo, Red-Haired-Jack, NarayaEdea, ichilover3, Revanent, Life is Full Of Regrets, Tasogare X, Gray Tasare, Ash-chan13, Shizuku700, lilithchild, Auditory Eden, irsistort, Soul-Searcher16, ScienceAngel, xkaleidoscopex, Sparanda, ReaperDuckling, Reiuko, BlueNekoChan, Thelanblossom, Maii04, lazyguy90, omnipotent Porunga, Switmikan74, WinterMission, louisewattis, spinachmuncher, StuffedLion, fanofanime, Ginevra1988, fluco99, ero-sama 8669, meggie-moo s, DeathMeetsLife, myrrdinowl, Quiet Moon, lavenderfire, tichtich2, Azaria Stromsis, Shinku no tamashi, and MoOmOo753951. Thank you to them and to everyone who's stuck with us thus far. And now, on with the story!**

**WARNING: Upcoming mentions of RenRuki and IchiHime. Please feel free to criticize my writing, but not the pairings. Thank you.**

**Normal = prose, **_**italics**_** = thoughts or inner conversations **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. They belong solely to Tite Kubo. However, if there was an alternate universe where I do own Bleach, I will promptly give my left arm to switch with my other self. I also do not own any of the chapter titles. Cookies for anyone who guesses which poems they're from. :)**

* * *

**Chapter Five: Fluttering and Dancing in the Breeze **

* * *

**i.**

* * *

Toushirou dreamed once more of a black castle at the edge of his inner world, of a voice calling out to him. But this time was different. This time was special.

Because this time, a dragon stood in front of him. A dragon made not of ice and water, but of wind and cloud. A dragon that looked at him with dark, compelling eyes. Eyes which asked a question of him.

"Who are you?" the dragon rumbled. "How are you here?" Its voice was feminine, mysterious, and vaguely familiar, as if he'd heard it elsewhere. Ignoring that, he spoke impatiently, demanding answers.

"Who am_ I_?" he asked. "Who are _you_?And what are you doing here? What have you done with Hyourinmaru? This is my world. Get out!"

"Ah," sighed the dragon, moving its head down to stare directly at him. "You are _him_. Hyourinmaru's master. I should have known." The dragon lifted its head once again, surveying the landscape around her. "I have indeed trespassed into your realm. This bodes ill for all of us," the dragon said in a worried tone.

"Wait a minute! Would you just tell me who you are, and why you're here?" Hitsugaya asked, beginning to lose his patience. This dragon was even more enigmatic than Hyourinmaru was.

"I cannot tell you my name, little one. That is for my mistress alone to know, and her privilege alone to share with you if she should wish to. As of yet, she is still resisting me. That is the cause of the turbulence you see yonder," the dragon stated. "But I assure you, you have no cause to fear me. I am a…friend…of Hyourinmaru. And as his master, I hold you in the highest regard, little one."

Scowling slightly, Hitsugaya replied, "Please stop calling me 'little one.' I am hardly a child! And what do you mean you're Hyourinmaru's friend? Even if you're a zanpakutou spirit, you shouldn't be here. Who is your mistress, and why is she disturbing my inner world?"

Sighing softly, the dragon said, "I meant no offence, little one. The term was meant in affection, and there is no one who may stand before a dragon and _not_ be considered tiny. As for my mistress…you know who she is, and she knows you, better than anyone else ever could. The storms that rage so violently are not of our choice, but rather are a result of the inner turmoil within. Her power is growing, little one, and she cannot yet control it _or_ me. I have tried to draw on Hyourinmaru's will to control our strength, but this can only hold us for so long. You must help her, little one! Help her before it is too late!"

At that last sentence, the wind blew even more fiercely, and the thunder clashed louder, the storm growing in its intensity. Hitsugaya stepped back as the dragon threw back its head and roared, taking flight and heading back towards the black castle in the distance.

"Wait!" Hitsugaya screamed. "Wait!"

But the wind swallowed his words and kicked up the snow around him until he could see nothing but white. Ignoring this, he walked forward, his hands outstretched towards the castle—

And he woke up.

He was lying on his futon, the sheets tossed to the side, kicked there some point during the night. Sitting up, he sighed softly and murmured to himself, "What is going on?"

Stretching lightly he stood up and glanced at the calendar on his wall, smiling a little as he looked at today's date, circled in red, with the words "Visit to the Real World" scribbled underneath.

He'd see Karin again for the first time in six months, one week, and one day.

He let himself smirk a little in anticipation, imagining her grinning face as she'd wave to him, a soccer ball under her arm. He wondered what she'd say when she told him about the dreams…

A few seconds later, he was startled by the sound of insistent knocking at his door. Standing up and walking to the front of his living quarters, he opened the door to a cheerful Matsumoto, who enthusiastically pushed him aside as she made her way inside the house, chattering all the while.

"Taichou! Did you just wake up? That's really weird, since you're usually up _way _earlier than I am. Anyway, you'd better hurry up and get moving. We wouldn't want to be late now, would we? Nope, I didn't think so."

Barely pausing to draw breath, she walked into the kitchen, apparently looking for food, and continued their one-sided conversation. "Oh, have you eaten breakfast yet? No? Well, I guess you can grab a bite to eat—right after you get dressed, of course. I picked out your outfit for you already, is it around here somewhere? It's really very simple, nothing extravagant at all, just your usual shirt and jeans. You know, Karin-chan loves it best when you wear black, so I decided to that black jeans would be best, paired with that nice blue shirt that Momo got you on her last trip to the Real World. You'll look fantastic in it, Taichou, it'll really bring out your eyes. Karin won't be able to keep her hands off of you!"

And here Matsumoto stuck her head back into the living room, giving Hitsugaya a suggestive wink before laughing at his incredulous expression. He was still frozen at the open door, and hadn't moved a single inch, ever since the second she'd walked in. He only glared at her response and quite forcefully shut the door, standing with his arms crossed. Humming a little, Matsumoto ignored his ominous expression and started moving into his bedroom, giving an exclamation of surprise at what she found there.

"Taichou! What is this? You're only bringing two bags? Two bags? We're staying for a week, you know. Two bags isn't going to cut it. I _knew_ I should have packed for you…Oh, here's the outfit! What is it doing over there, I wonder? I could've sworn I put it on the door hook, not by the window….anyway, here you are, Taichou!" she stated happily, meeting him in the middle of the hallway and ignoring his commands to get out of his house _right this minute_.

In fact, his irate expression only served to make her more bubbly and bossy, and she shoved the clothes into his hands and pushed him into the restroom, cheerfully saying, "Be sure to change quickly, Taichou! We can go and meet the others as soon as you're done. Oh, wait, I almost forgot about breakfast! Don't worry about that, Taichou, I'll make us something, just like a good fukutaichou! Hmm, now do you want wasabi with your eggs, or would pickled mango taste better? Orihime just gave me this wonderful recipe the other day…"

Her voice faded away as she walked down the hallway and into the kitchen, where she would no doubt be concocting some poisonous dishes. Sighing, he could only shake his head in exasperation before pausing suddenly, his brows furrowing in confusion as he eyed the clothes she'd given him. He was reasonably certain he'd never seen them before in his entire life. Oh, well. As long as they fit, it didn't really matter.

A half hour later, and they were making their way over to the Senkaimon gate, Hell Butterflies fluttering their wings gently behind them. Hitsugaya was slightly green from the breakfast Matsumoto had forced on him (she'd decided to go with the mango-pickled eggs) and struggling to carry all twelve suitcases, bags, and purses of varying sizes that made up Matsumoto's luggage. His fukutaichou, of course, had decided to repay him for his completely willing and gallant gesture—cough, cough, _not_—by carrying his two bags. Hitsugaya groaned slightly as peals of laughter met their coming, and he could see the entire Women's Association heartily guffawing as they watched him make his way down the hill to the gate, the handle of a pink purse clamped between his teeth.

Dropping Matsumoto's things unceremoniously on the ground upon his arrival, he gave curt nods of greeting to the various shinigami assembled to see the Women's Association off. He gave Matsumoto a glare and didn't bother replying as she pouted and complained about how he'd gotten dust all over her things, then made his way to the front of the group. Taking the attendance list from Ise Nanao, he started calling out everyone's name, checking the box next to their name as they answered and waving them through the gate.

"Hinamori Momo," he began.

"Here, Shiro-chan!" she said, ignoring his death glare in her direction. She leaned up to kiss Izuru on the cheek, squeezing his hand gently before she made her way into the gate. Hitsugaya noted the look on Izuru's face, and mentally prepared himself for the day when the man would ask for his adopted sister's hand in marriage. It wouldn't be long in coming now. Sighing a little, he scanned the paper and continued, "Ise Nanao."

"Present," she answered, before turning to finish her conversation with her taichou. Hitsugaya could hear her saying, "I'm telling you, it would be better if you asked Lisa-chan in person. If you went through the trouble of buying her a house by a lake to live in after you two get married, you might as well propose properly." Turning her back on his excuses, she marched resolutely through the gate, ignoring her taichou's wailing lament.

Hitsugaya rolled his eyes and shared amused glances with Ukitake-taichou, then said the next two names on the list, "Kotetsu Isane and Kotetsu Kiyone."

"Here!" the sisters replied, Isane in a hesitant tone and Kiyone in a boastful one as she made faces at Sentaro before walking through the gate, happily pulling her older sister along.

"Kurotsuchi Nemu," Hitsugaya then stated, nodding in return as the Twelfth Division fukutaichou bowed to him, then moved quietly into the Senkaimon.

"Kusajishi Yachiru," Hitsugaya continued.

"Here, Snowflake!" the energetic, pint-sized fukutaichou replied. Sighing, he checked the box next to her name, and stepped out of the way as she catapulted herself from Kenpachi-taichou's shoulders. "Don't cry, Ikky and Yumi! I'll see you soon, Kenny, and I promise I'll take care of Braidy-sama. Bye now!" the pink-haired girl said as she entered the gate.

"Matsumoto Rangiku," Hitsugaya said, then averted his eyes as she shared a passionate goodbye kiss with Hisagi Shuuhei. Honestly, he was happy she'd gotten over Ichimaru's betrayal and death, but the enthusiastic displays of affection between her and Shuuhei were just ridiculous. Winking at him as she walked past, Matsumoto turned and blew one last kiss towards her lover before disappearing through the gate.

Ignoring the hoots and catcalls, Hitsugaya continued, "Soi Fon-taichou," moving out of the way as his fellow captain flash-stepped past him.

"Unohana-taichou," he then said, pausing respectfully as the gentle but fearsome Fourth Division leader kissed the decidedly ungentle but equally fearsome Kenpachi Zaraki goodbye.

"Take care of yourself while I'm gone. I don't want to hear about you sustaining major injuries while I and my fukutaichou are in the Real World," she said quietly.

"Tch," he scoffed. "Quit your worrying, woman. I can watch out for myself just fine. I don't need you to baby me." So saying, the huge warrior crossed his arms and jutted out his chin, the very picture of uncaring, macho ruggedness. Unohana simply stared at him for a few more seconds before walking to the Senkaimon. She stopped just before stepping through, turning to look back at the man who'd called her name.

"Have—havefunwhileyou'regone," the normally bloodthirsty taichou said in a flustered, embarrassed tone.

Smiling, Unohana merely replied, "I'll try, but it'll be hard when you're not there with me," then walked through the gate, leaving a grinning Kenpachi behind her.

"Y'hear that?" he said to no one in particular. "That was code for 'I'll miss you.'"

"Brilliant deduction, Taichou," Yumichika replied sarcastically, chuckling lightly at his boss's obvious love-sickness.

Shaking his head, Hitsugaya then called the final name on the list.

"Kuchiki Rukia," he said.

"I'm coming," the newly promoted fukutaichou of Thirteenth Division said. She was standing toe to toe with her fiancé, gazing longingly into his eyes.

"You'd better get going," Renji said, but the iron grip he had on her arms contradicted his words.

"I don't want to," Rukia replied.

Sighing, Renji pulled her into his arms and murmured into her hair, "Come on, this whole trip was just for you. You have to go. Besides," and here he grinned, "just think that the next time we'll see each other, it'll be at our wedding."

Smiling back, Rukia leaned up to give him one last kiss, before stepping back and bowing towards her brother. The elder Kuchiki gave her a nod in return, and said only, "I'll make sure the preparations are perfect for your return."

Smiling gratefully, Rukia said, "Of course, Nii-sama." The she turned her gaze back to Renji, walking backwards into the Senkaimon, never taking her eyes off his.

As she stepped through the gate into the Real World, Renji gave a sigh and said to Hitsugaya, "Watch after her for me, would you? She'll never tell me if she's feeling stressed or worried, but I'm sure the others will make sure to cheer her up. It's just…"

"It's alright, Abarai. I understand," Hitsugaya replied, before handing the attendance list to Sasakibe-fukutaichou of the First Division, and stepping into the gate himself.

* * *

**ii.**

* * *

He appeared in the very crowded front room of Urahara Shoten, surrounded by squealing, excited women.

"Rukia-chan! Rukia-chan, you're here, you're here, you're here!" yelled Orihime, hugging her dear friend enthusiastically. "Oh, I've missed you sooo much, you wouldn't believe it! I'm so, so happy you're here! I can help you with any wedding plans and scare off any aliens who'd try to kidnap you and generally be the best super-awesome maid of honor! Oh, oh, and I can't wait to show you the—oh! Wait, you can't know about the secret project until the wedding! It's a surprise. Forget I said anything!"

"Jeez, Orihime, let Kuchiki breathe, would you?" said Tatsuki in a mock-exasperated tone. "And I don't think you ruined the surprise or anything—I barely understood a word you said, and if I couldn't translate it, no one can."

"Hey, Tatsuki-san," Rukia replied, almost all the sadness gone from her face. Instead, only happiness remained at seeing her friends again. "And I'm sure it's an awesome surprise, Hime, whatever it is you've prepared."

"Ehehe," laughed Orihime. "I sure hope you think so when you see it. It's really a gift from everyone, since almost everybody pitched in to help me put it together. Oh!" she gasped suddenly as Matsumoto hugged her from behind.

"Orihime-chaaaaan!" Matsumoto squealed. "How have you been?"

"R-r-rangiku-san!" said Orihime in an equally high pitched voice, "Y-y-you're here, too! Ehehe, please stop, that tickles!" A few seconds later, Hitsugaya had to cover his ears as the two of them started shrieking and asking each other questions, and the rest of the room generally erupted in chaos as everyone started greeting everyone else at the top of their lungs.

He made his way into the corner of the room, and found Urahara standing there, gazing in amusement at the hectic scene before them.

"Well, well, Hitsugaya-kun. How are you doing on this fine day?" Urahara asked.

"Alright, thank you," replied Hitsugaya, somewhat absentmindedly. He was absorbed in scanning the room for a familiar head of short, raven hair.

"She's not here, you know," stated Urahara, leisurely fanning himself.

"Hn? Who's not here?" said Hitsugaya, abruptly stopping his search and feigning nonchalance.

"Who else but Karin-chan? School hasn't let out yet, so they're probably still in class," the clever scientist replied.

"Oh, I see," said Hitsugaya, disappointed in spite of himself.

Chuckling lightly, Urahara said, "Don't be so glum, Hitsugaya-kun. School lets out within the hour. In the meantime, don't you want all the living arrangements taken care of and the unpacking done?"

"Good idea," Hitsugaya said. "Now, do you have a microphone I could perhaps borrow?"

A few minutes later, his amplified voice rang out over the din. "May I have your attention please? Please, all members of the Women's Association, please quiet down and listen. Thank you," he said. "Now, does everyone know where they're going?"

"Don't worry, Shiro-chan, we've booked rooms in the local inn," said Momo. "Though I know some people made arrangements on their own…"

"That's right!" Yoruichi said, slinging an arm around Soi Fon. "My little bumblebee's staying right here."

The diminutive Taichou of the Second Division and Commander of the Secret Remote Squad only nodded in agreement, busy looking up adoringly at her idol. "I stay where Yoruichi-sama is," she said, glaring at everyone as if she expected them to disagree.

"Well, I suppose we have room for one freeloader," Urahara sighed.

As he nimbly dodged several of Soi Fon's rapid attacks, Hitsugaya asked, "Is anyone else staying somewhere besides the inn?"

"I'm rooming with Lisa-chan and the other Vaizards," said Nanao, pushing up her glasses.

"I will be staying with Uryuu-kun," stated Nemu quietly.

"Whaaat?" yelled Matsumoto. "He's actually sleeping with you before you're married? I didn't know he had it in him."

"N-n-no, you misunderstand," Nemu stuttered, a blush on her face. "I-I'm just staying at his house. We have separate rooms and—and—and nothing's going on!" she finished, punctuating her last sentence with a bow.

"Oh," said Matsumoto, obviously disappointed at the lack of sordid details. "And here I thought things were actually getting interesting. Well, tell him hi for us, would you? And remind him that I'll be dropping by later and commissioning some clothes. That dress he made for you was stunning!"

As Nemu blushed even harder and hid her face behind her hands, Hitsugaya sighed and said, "Okay, if that's everyone, why don't we start heading to the inn?"

For the next ten minutes, he proceeded to bully and prod the dozen or so women to get moving, grab their gigais, and make their way outside. Forty-five minutes later, he then somehow managed to get everyone inside the small bus that Urahara provided, pack the mountain of luggage into the back (at least a third of it had to be Matsumoto's), and start driving down the street. Urahara, Yoruichi, Soi Fon, and Tessai waved them cheerfully goodbye.

They gave Tatsuki a ride to her place, dropped Nemu off at Uryuu's home, left Nanao at the Vaizards' warehouse, stopped by the supermarket to buy Yachiru some ice cream (Unohana insisted with that eerie smile of hers), and got lost for half an hour before they _finally_ made it to the inn.

An exhausted Hitsugaya leaned against the counter at the front of the inn, trying to ignore the pounding of his head and the gaggle of talking, laughing women behind him. A wide-eyed receptionist stared at their group, glancing back and forth between the attractive young man and the apparent harem accompanying him.

"How may I help you, sir?" she said.

"Reservation for six rooms under Hitsugaya," he replied. Oh, once he was in his room, he was locking the door and never coming out. He never should have agreed to going on this trip. _Never._

"Ummm…there_ is_ a reservation under this name, sir, but you're only registered for two rooms," the girl replied.

"What?" he said. "Two rooms? _Two_ rooms? Are you kidding me? Does it look like this entire group can fit in just two rooms?"

"N-no, sir," the receptionist stuttered. "B-but that's what the reservation says. And we're currently booked to capacity, thanks to the upcoming festival."

Groaning, Hitsugaya hit his head against the counter before turning around and making a beeline straight for his fukutaichou.

"Matsumoto! What is the meaning of this?" he yelled. "You only booked two rooms!"

Blinking, Matsumoto said, "Why, of course, Taichou. There were only two available, and besides, you're the one who's always saying we need to cut down on our budget. Everyone will share a room."

"Precisely how are we going to fit _eight _people into _two_ rooms, Matsumoto?" growled Hitsugaya.

"Eight people? Who said anything about eight people, Taichou? It's just five. Kiyone and Isane will share one room, and the other will go to Yachiru, Unohana-taichou, and Hinamori," replied Matsumoto.

"And where exactly are _we_ supposed to sleep, Matsumoto? For that matter, where is _Kuchiki_ going to sleep? Isn't the entire point of this trip to help her relax? I don't know about you, but sleeping on the streets doesn't strike me as particularly relaxing!" he yelled, anger finally taking over.

"Oh, Shiro-kun, you're all going to stay with Inoue-san," interjected Momo.

"What?" said Hitsugaya, at the same time that Orihime said, "Eh? They are?"

"Of course we are!" said Matsumoto, "Where else are we supposed to go? It's the maid of honor's job to take care of the bride, so Rukia_ has_ to stay with Orihime-chan. And you and I are practically family, so we might as well stay there, too," she concluded, looking up expectantly.

"W-well, it's fine with me," said Orihime. "But it might be a bit crowded with five people…"

"Five people? There're only four of us. Who's the fifth person?" asked Matsumoto, bewildered.

* * *

**iii.**

* * *

"Hell, no," said Ichigo, crossing his arms and glaring at the three shinigami currently huddled on Inoue's couch.

"But, Ichigoooooo," pleaded Matsumoto.

"I said no! And don't you even start that strip-tease, I have a girlfriend now!" Ichigo yelled.

Sitting up suddenly, Matsumoto poked a finger into his chest. "Exactly! She's still only your girlfriend! There's no ring on her finger! Who knows what your intentions are? You shouldn't be staying alone with her! That's completely shameless! I can just imagine what sort of shenanigans you'll be trying, you rascal!"

"Don't give me that crap, Matsumoto! Who's the one who's been forcing Orihime on me practically since we graduated from high school? You're the last person I'd trust to protect her innocence!" he shouted back.

"Who cares? You're her significant other! _We're_ practically her long-lost relatives. Blood trumps boyfriend. So clear out!" Matsumoto yelled in defiance, sticking her tongue out for good measure.

"No way! That makes no sense at all! I'm not spending my spring break away from Orihime, and that's final! You leeches can just sleep on the street for all I care!" Ichigo yelled back, a vein throbbing on his forehead.

"Oh, so I'm a leech, am I, Ichigo?" Rukia stated ominously. "I never knew you thought so little of me, YOU BASTARD!" she finished, landing a kick to his face.

"Oof!" he said, flying across the room before landing against the wall. Grumbling as he sat up, he was met with Matsumoto's final weapon.

"Please, Ichi-kun? Can't they stay? They really _are_ like my family, and it's my _job_ to take care of Rukia-chan! I'm her maid of honor! So please, won't you let them stay?" pleaded Orihime, giving him her biggest, widest puppy dog eyes.

Ichigo could _never_ resist her when she looked at him like that.

"Oh, fine," Ichigo finally relented, quickly continuing as Matsumoto and Orihime started to do a victory dance. "But just Rukia. You two," he said, glaring pointedly at Matsumoto and Hitsugaya, "can get the hell out."

"No way!" cried Matsumoto. "Why do _we _have to leave? You have your own nice house, with food and clothes and a family and everything! Why don't you just go there?"

"Why the hell would I stay with my idiot of a father when I can stay with my girlfriend?" Ichigo retorted. "And if you like my house so much, why don't _you guys_ stay there?"

"Really?" said Matsumoto, suddenly perking up. "Alright! Thank you, Ichigo! Taichou, get the luggage! We're heading over to the Kurosaki Clinic! I can share with Yuzu, and you can sleep with Karin!"

"Hell, no!" yelled Ichigo. "There is no way I'm letting that white-haired midget anywhere near my baby sister!"

"Who're you calling a midget, Kurosaki? I'm practically the same height as you!" yelled Hitsugaya, finally giving into the anger that had been building all day. And who the hell did Ichigo think he was, telling him to stay away from his best friend? As if he'd even do anything to hurt Karin! Angry from the implied insult, he shouted, "And I'll be as close to Karin as I want!"

"Oooh, Taichou! You're finally admitting it!" Matsumoto said, clapping her hands joyfully.

"Admitting what?" asked Yuzu, stepping into the room, a key in her hand, her head tilted to the side before her eyes widened in sudden realization—

The occupants of the room froze before gazing in shock at the now-open front door. Then—

"Yuzu-chan!" squealed Matsumoto.

"Rangiku-san!" yelled Yuzu, and the next few minutes were a miniature repeat of the scene at Urahara Shoten—with one very major change.

"Hey, Toush," said the one and only Kurosaki Karin, her face grinning just the way he'd imagined it. "Miss me much?"

* * *

**Endnote: And that's chapter five. Sorry for the shorter length than usual, I was trying to get it out as fast as I could. Hope you liked it! :D**

**The last chapter title was taken from "Winter," a sonnet by William Shakespeare. **

**Please review! :D**


	6. When a Beggar Beholds You

**Author Note: Hello again, our lovely readers! CrazyAce'n'PokerFace are here to proudly present Chapter 5 of Midnight Snow. WE ARE BAAACK! And yes, there **_**are**_** two of us, to answer a few of our inquisitive readers. I, CrazyAce, do all of the writing, brainstorming, replying to reviews, etc. PokerFace acts as a sounding board, gives a few ideas (mostly the humorous scenes, like the blackmail contract in Ch. 3), does the corrections, and generally helps make the writing a lot more fun. He's like my inspirational muse. :) **

**To find out more about us, just visit our profile! And if you have any other questions, feel free to PM us! :D **

**And now, on with the story!**

**WARNING: Upcoming warnings of RenRuki and IchiHime. Please feel free to criticize my writing, but not the pairings. Thank you.**

**Normal = prose, **_**italics**_** = thoughts or inner conversations **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. They belong solely to Tite Kubo. However, if there was an alternate universe where I do own Bleach, I will promptly give my left arm to switch with my other self. I also do not own any of the chapter titles. Cookies for anyone who guesses which poems they're from. :)**

* * *

**Chapter Six: When a Beggar Beholds You, He Forgets His Hunger **

* * *

**i.**

* * *

With just three words, it was as if the last six months, one week, and one day were completely erased. It was just him and her again, the way it should be. All was right with his world once more.

"Miss me much?" Karin said with that grin of hers, the one that always made Hitsugaya want to smile back at her. So he did, smirking as he started walking towards her.

"Ha! As if, Kurosaki. I was way too busy to even think about you," he replied, mentally crossing his fingers. There was no need to tell her that he'd missed her so much that he actually counted down the hours until he was able to see her again. Matsumoto would probably overhear, take it the wrong way, and mercilessly tease him.

"Oh, yeah? Guess that means you were buried with paperwork again. Sounds like _tons_ of fun," she retorted, casually perusing her fingernails. "_So_ sorry I missed out."

He scowled. "Whatever. I bet _you _were bored to death over here. I mean, come on, do you even have anything to do besides study 'til your eyes bleed and play weaklings on the soccer field? I bet your game has gotten so bad that it'll only take me fifteen minutes to beat you."

Karin grinned again, and this time it had him itching to go against her one on one, each of them fighting to defeat the other. She stepped closer to him, digging one finger into his chest, emphasizing each of her words with a vicious jab. "You wish, Toushirou! You're going to have your ass handed to you on a platter by the time I'm through with you."

"You're on, Kurosaki," he replied, tilting his head to look down at her. Karin's grin widened, and he was close enough to distinguish the exact shade of dark gray her eyes were…

At this point, he was suddenly wrenched backwards as Ichigo grabbed his arm and forcefully pulled him away from Karin.

"Not so close, you bastard!" Ichigo yelled. Hitsugaya scowled and shoved Ichigo's hand off his arm. Seriously, what was _wrong _with him? Didn't he see that it was Karin who was doing the bodily harm here? (He could definitely feel where a bruise would be forming on his shoulder. Not that he'd ever admit to it. He had his pride, after all.)

"Ichigo! Stop interrupting them!" Matsumoto said. "We were just getting to the good part!"

"Yeah, Onii-chan!" Yuzu seconded.

"What good part?" Karin asked, exasperated. "And Ichi-nii! Stop man-handling my friends!"

"Hey! He deserved it!" Ichigo protested.

"He wasn't even _doing _anything, Ichi-nii! Just talking trash!"

"Yeah!" Matsumoto and Yuzu chorused. "So stop ruining our entertainment!"

"Entertainment! How could you call that entertainment?" Ichigo yelled, gesturing at Karin and Hitsugaya. "Do none of you see what's wrong with this picture? First of all, he's a couple centuries older than her!"

"It's just _one _century," muttered Hitsugaya. "Plus a few decades."

"Whatever! Second of all, _you're_ dead and she's _alive! _That's like combining pedophilia with necrophilia right there!"

"What are you talking about, Ichi-nii? Toush and I are best friends! Stop being such a hypocrite! What about you and Rukia, huh?" Karin shot back.

"That's completely different!"

"_How?"_

"Our relationship is platonic!"

"Well, so is mine and Toushirou's! Jeez, I'm sick of all the innuendos and suggestions everyone keeps throwing at us!" Karin said, rolling her eyes before turning to look at Hitsugaya. "What the heck are _you_ laughing at?"

While Ichigo and Karin had their argument, Hitsugaya had started chuckling, unable to help himself at the hilarity of the situation. But Karin was glaring at him, so he figured he'd better explain. "Nothing, sorry. It's just that everyone does the same thing to me in Soul Society."

Karin blinked. "Wait, they tease you, too?"

Hitsugaya nodded. "Yeah, they're always making weird assumptions and asking when you and I are going to make it official."

Karin's eyes widened. "No way! They say that to me, too! Hey, every time you look even the least bit depressed, do they ask if it's because you're missing me?"

Hitsugaya nodded, a smirk on his face. Karin shook her head, laughing. "I don't believe this! And here I thought it was just me! Honestly, what do you think is wrong with people? Even Pinta and the guys keep dropping hints. You'd think they'd find something else to gossip about."

Hitsugaya shrugged. "Beats me."

"Hey! Back to the conversation here!" Ichigo yelled, waving his arms. Hitsugaya and Karin ignored him, preferring instead to compare notes and catch up on things. Karin eventually bumped her shoulder against Hitsugaya's and tilted her head towards the still-open door, indicating that they should temporarily move their conversation outside.

Ichigo was two steps away from following them when four pairs of hands reached out and grabbed him.

"Hey! What's the big idea?" he yelled in protest. "Aw, come on, not you, too, Orihime!"

"Look, Ichigo, it's for your sister's own good," Matsumoto said. "She's already in deep denial about her own feelings. I mean, look at that conversation she just had with Taichou! Those two love-birds are about as oblivious as it gets!"

"Yeah! And I want to keep it that way!" Ichigo argued.

"Well, _we _want to see some progress," Yuzu said. "Letting them spend some time alone together won't hurt."

"Yes, it will!" Ichigo roared. "You're underestimating the white-haired midget! I know how guys think!"

"Ichigo, you fool! Don't go around assuming that everyone is as perverted as you, freak!" Rukia said.

"I'm not the perverted one here!"

"Neither is Hitsugaya-kun," Orihime contributed. "He's the perfect gentleman. Karin will be fine. Besides, they're still just friends, remember? Nothing to worry about. It looks like things will stay like this for a while."

As Yuzu and Matsumoto protested ("Don't say that, Hime-nee! Urahara-san said he was going to brew up a love potion for us if things get desperate!"), Ichigo sighed and stopped struggling. "You're right, you're right."

Rukia shook her head at his reaction. "You're so whipped."

Ichigo turned red from anger, embarrassment, or a mixture of both. "Shut up, midget!"

"_You_ shut up, idiot!"

"I'm not the one that's getting married here! _You're_ the whipped one!"

"No, no, Renji's the whipped one and—hey! You bastard! Does that mean you're not intending to make an honest woman of Orihime?" Rukia accused him, incensed.

"Eh?" Orihime said, at the same time that Ichigo spluttered, "When did I say that, stupid? Don't go making stupid assumptions about people's damned intentions."

"Aha! So you_ are_ gonna marry her, hmm?" Matsumoto interjected, a cat-like grin upon her face. "You're going to have to ask me, Tatsuki, and Taichou for permission, you know, so you better be nice to Taichou or we won't let you marry her."

"Dude, we are _so _not having this conversation again."

"I-It's okay, Rangiku-san. I don't want to marry Ichigo," Orihime said. The room went deathly quiet for a few seconds as everyone processed that statement.

"WHAT?" Ichigo eventually yelled, his expression one of surprise that quickly turned into dejection.

"Ooooh! Did you fall in love with somebody else?" Matsumoto asked eagerly.

"N-N-No! I meant that I don't want to marry Ichigo _yet_! Yet!" Orihime flailed her arms.

Ichigo instantly cheered up, and Rukia took one look at his expression and smugly stated, "You see? _Whipped_."

And the argument resumed.

* * *

**ii.**

* * *

Meanwhile, outside on Orihime's front balcony, Karin and Hitsugaya were finishing up their conversation.

"So, yeah, my life is pretty much packed between soccer and kendo practice, helping out at the clinic, and studying my ass off to get into Tokyo University," she said, leaning against the short wall.

"Guess my description was pretty spot on then," he said, teasing her.

She scowled. "Hey, it wasn't completely boring, 'kay? There were a few Hollows to kill, that sort of thing." _And the dreams. Always the dreams_, she thought to herself. _Should I tell him about them now? They've been getting worse, but it's so…private. And he just got here anyway, Better to wait until later._ So thinking, she plastered a smile to her face, only to be met with a pair of concerned blue-green eyes.

"What?" she asked.

Hitsugaya shook his head. "It's nothing. You can take care of yourself." The way he said that last sentence was full of confidence, but it also had the _slightest _sound of someone trying to reassure himself.

Karin's grin widened, and she smacked Hitsugaya on the arm. "Toush, were you worrying about me? I can fight off Hollows just fine, you know. I don't need you to come to my rescue." _Oh, look_, she thought. _There's that little line he gets between his eyebrows when he's mad. I must've really annoyed him…_

"I know that! Didn't I just say so? You're strong enough to take out most Hollows. Only—don't do anything reckless, okay?" That last sentence was nearly a mutter, and Karin wanted to laugh at the way he said it while pointedly staring off into the distance. But she understood. Talking about feelings was uncomfortable for the both of them. They found it easier just to show them than to say them.

"Hey, you're talking to the most sensible of the Kurosakis. You've got nothing to worry about. I'm more worried for you, what with having to keep Yachiru in check here in the Living World," she said, trying to lighten the mood, and sure enough he started scowling, his expression comically ominous.

"Someday I'm really going to murder Matsumoto. You just watch. Honestly, did you know what she did this past month?"

"Burned your paperwork, blackmailed you into coming here, and saddled you with baby-sitting the Women's Association?" Karin asked, turning the tables and teasing him instead.

"_Yes_. And to top it off, she didn't even get enough rooms at the inn, which is why we're stuck here at Inoue-san's place, throwing ourselves on her hospitality." Hitsugaya made a disgusted noise in the back of his throat. "It probably would've worked out fine, except for the fact that your idiot of a brother's here, and there's only room enough to take Kuchiki in."

Karin cocked her head to the side. "So where are you guys staying?"

Hitsugaya sighed. "Who knows?" He could always make do with Inoue-san's roof, he supposed…

"Why don't you guys crash at our house?" Karin suggested.

Hitsugaya blinked in surprise.

"What?" Now it was Karin's turn to scowl again.

"Nothing. It's just that your brother actually told us to do that, and Matsumoto was all for taking him up on his offer, right before you guys walked in."

"Hm. So Ichi-nii approved?" He nodded, and she continued, "That makes it easier, then. It's settled. You'll stay with us."

"Well, actually, your brother rescinded his offer…"

"Please. As if he has the right to do that. I said his approval would make things _easier_, not that it was _necessary_. He doesn't even live with us anymore. You and Matsumoto can share his room." Catching a glance at his horrified expression, Karin hastily amended, "Or you can sleep on the couch and Matsumoto can have the room to herself."

"That's fine. Thank you." Relief at not having to share living quarters with his fukutaichou was written all over his face.

"No problem. That's what friends are for, right? Come on, let's go inside and pry Rukia off of Ichigo. Then we can get your stuff and get going, otherwise we'll be late and Goat-chin will complain that we let his culinary masterpiece go stale."

"Wait, your father's cooking?" Hitsugaya looked apprehensive. He didn't put it past Isshin to slip some sort of "love potion" into his serving.

"Grilling, and Yuzu had some sort of pot roast with mushroom sauce simmering when we left the house, so it's not like we'll starve." That being said, Karin opened the front door and walked back inside, Hitsugaya close on her heels.

They walked in on what appeared to be a wrestling match between Rukia and Ichigo. Ichigo was flailing on the floor, Rukia digging her knee into his back and choking him in a headlock.

"Admit defeat, idiot!" Rukia said gleefully.

"Never, you midget!" Ichigo wheezed, trying to loosen her grip around his neck. It wasn't working.

Behind them, Matsumoto and Yuzu were acting as the avid spectators, while Orihime resembled a worried referee.

"Woo-hoo, Rukia-chan! Show 'im who's boss! Take that, Ichigo! This is divine punishment for kicking us out!" Matsumoto said.

"Come on, Onii-chan! Try your best! You can do it! Oh, but make sure you don't hurt Rukia-nee-chan!" Yuzu said.

"Umm, p-please stop fighting," Orihime said, fidgeting with her hands. "I'm sure Ichigo-kun would be happy to admit defeat, right?"

"Ad_mit_ it! Ad_mit_ it! Ad_mit_ it!" Yuzu and Matsumoto chanted.

"No! I would definitely not!"

Rukia smirked. "You might not be happy about it, but you will say it, because it's Orihime who's asking. You'll say it 'cause you're _whipped_."

"Whipped! Whipped! Whipped!"

"Please, Ichigo-kun?" Orihime begged.

"Come on, Ichi-nii, just say it already so we can go to dinner," Karin stated. "We're gonna be late."

Matsumoto perked up. "Ooh! Welcome back, Karin-chan! How was your lovey-dovey chat with Taichou? Did he confess?"

"Matsumoto!" Hitsugaya yelled. He could _feel_ himself blushing. It was one thing when she made comments like that in Soul Society—another thing entirely when Karin was right there next to him, laughing hysterically.

"He better not have!" Ichigo yelled.

"Shut up, Ichigo. Nobody asked you."

"Goddamnit! Get off of me, Rukia!"

"Not until you say it."

"Please, Ichigo-kun? Pretty please?"

"…"

"He's gonna say it! He's gonna say it!"

"The hell I am!"

"_Please_, Ichigo-kun?"

Absolute silence, except for the sound of avid anticipation.

"...fine! I'm…I'm whipped!"

Matsumoto, Yuzu, and Rukia started cackling like madwomen.

"We _knew_ you'd say it!"

"Oh! Oh! Now make him say he's a whipped _bunny_ who _lurves _his princess!"

Karin rolled her eyes at Hitsugaya and decided to step in before this went any further. Torturing Ichigo was always fun, but they had a deadline to meet.

"Hey! People! I said we're gonna be late! Let's get going!" she commanded.

"But, Karin-chan!" Matsumoto complained.

"But nothing. Get your things and get in the car. You and Toush are riding with me and Yuzu. Rukia can ride with Ichi-nii."

Matsumoto opened her mouth, undoubtedly to argue or whine, when she registered something.

"Get our things? Does this mean we can stay with you?" she asked excitedly.

"Duh," Karin said at the same time Yuzu replied, "Of course!" and Ichigo said, "Over my dead body!"

"That can be arranged," Rukia said, tweaking his ear threateningly from her position on his back.

As she and Ichigo argued, Orihime and Yuzu helped Matsumoto grab her multitude of bags, dumping at least half of them into Hitsugaya's arms. Somehow, they all managed to make it down to the cars without anyone breaking their necks.

The car ride itself proved largely uneventful; Yuzu and Matsumoto chatted happily in the backseat of Karin's truck, while Hitsugaya rode shotgun and gazed idly out the window, a smile playing about his lips as he stayed silent and Karin hummed along to the radio.

This was _exactly_ what he needed.

* * *

**iii.**

* * *

Any sense of peace he felt was immediately shattered upon arrival at the Kurosaki household.

"HITSUGAYA-KUUUUUN!" Isshin exclaimed ecstatically as he ran outside to greet them, his arms flung wide as he tried to hug Hitsugaya. The Tenth Division taichou neatly side-stepped him as Karin's fist came out of nowhere to sock her father in the jaw.

"Stupid Goat-chin! Stop acting like a maniac. You're embarrassing me!" she yelled.

Isshin stumbled back into the house, sobbing wildly as he flung himself onto Masaki's poster. "Masaki! Our daughter hates me now! She's as possessive of Hitsugaya-kun as Ichigo is of Orihime-chan! It's not fair! Just because they're dating, she won't let anybody else hug him! We raised such selfish children!"

"A-ano, that's not true," Orihime said, patting him on the back while Karin shouted in the background. "Ichigo-kun is very good at sharing."

"Really? Then I'm glad," Isshin said, wrapping his arms around Orihime instead.

"Get off her, you perverted old man!" Ichigo raged, kicking his father off of his girlfriend, proving that he was, in reality, _very _bad at sharing.

Matsumoto clapped her hands happily. "It was a great idea to come here! Now we'll have live entertainment 24/7, ne, Yuzu-chan?"

Yuzu sighed. "If this—" she pointed at the brawl currently taking place on the living room floor, "—is what you count as entertainment, then yes, Rangiku-san. It's on 24/7."

* * *

**iv.**

* * *

"You live in a madhouse, Kurosaki," Hitsugaya said to Karin, setting a plate down. They had retreated to the kitchen, and he was helping her set the table.

She scowled in response as she grabbed extra chairs. "Shut up. It's not my fault that my father's insane. Otou-san is uncontrollable."

"I can see that," he replied, smirking.

"Yeah, yeah." She smiled in turn as she watched him align each pair of chopsticks in the _exact_ middle of the plate, as opposed to leaving them where she'd haphazardly thrown them. It was nice to see his OCD, neat-freak tendencies were still the same. She plopped herself sideways in her usual chair and watched him as he similarly rearranged the placemats and napkins. As soon as he finished, she pulled out the chair next to her and patted the seat.

He calmly ignored her—and sat in the chair across from her. "If you think I'm going to sit next to you and let you dump all the things you don't want to eat on my plate, you're sadly mistaken, Kurosaki. I'm your friend, not your garbage disposal."

"Why? Can't you be both?"

"Can't he be both what?" Matsumoto asked eagerly, entering the room from the kitchen while wearing oven mitts and holding a platter of pot roast. "Be both your friend _and _boyfriend? It's completely possible, you know!" She set the plate in the middle of the table and sat down next to Karin, scooting her chair in as close as possible and grabbing the surprised girl's hands. "Love and friendship were meant to coexist. Look at Renji and Rukia!"

"I have, Matsumoto, and she beats him up on a regular basis," Hitsugaya stated dryly. "That's not exactly your typical friendship. And _stop_ with the innuendos. I want to be able to keep my dinner down."

As Matsumoto opened her mouth to object, Isshin barged in, sporting a black eye and holding aloft something that resembled a hunk of burnt charcoal. "I bring us dinner!"

"Otou-san!" Yuzu cried out. "You promised me you wouldn't burn it! Honestly, I leave you alone for _one _hour, and this is what happens." She came rushing in from the kitchen, bringing the mushroom sauce. Orihime was right behind her with the bread rolls and water jug. Yuzu set the sauce on the table and ran over to her father, taking the…meat…from his hands and scolding him.

"Come on, Yuzu, how could you expect him _not_ to burn it?" Ichigo groused, rubbing his swollen knuckles. He stopped when he caught sight of where Hitsugaya was sitting. "Hey! Get out of my chair, midget!"

"I'm not in your chair, idiot!" yelled Rukia, who pushed Isshin out of the way to smack his son.

"I wasn't talking to you, midget, I was talking to the other midget!" He pointed an accusing finger at Hitsugaya, who simply raised his eyebrows.

"I didn't see your name on it, Kurosaki."

"It's my house! And that's my chair!"

"Technically, it's not your house anymore, Onii-chan. You moved out, remember?" Yuzu said patiently. "Now sit down here next to Hime-nee-chan so we can eat."

Grudgingly, Ichigo sat down, but he continued to glare at Hitsugaya throughout the meal, even as everyone else started to eat. It was rather disconcerting for the young taichou.

It ceased to be as disconcerting when a mushroom hit the side of Ichigo's face.

"Knock it off, Ichi-nii," Karin drawled. "I'm starting to think you might be gay after all, what with the way you're staring at Toush."

Rukia choked on her drink, Matsumoto and Isshin started howling with laughter, and Ichigo turned redder than a tomato.

"Atta girl! Teach him not to stare at your man, huh?" Isshin said, winking.

Karin and Toushirou started simultaneously rolling their eyes when their gazes met, and they burst out laughing instead.

Isshin, Matsumoto, and Yuzu exchanged worried glances. It was worse than they thought; annoyed denial at least acknowledged the fact that there was something to deny. Outright laughter indicated that the thought of them being a couple was so ludicrous as to be funny.

"Maybe we should take Urahara up on his offer after all," Isshin murmured to Yuzu. "The side-effects can't be _that _bad."

Orihime just watched the two friends laughing and smiled quietly to herself.

Things were progressing just fine.

* * *

**v.**

* * *

"Psst! Hitsugaya-kun!" said Isshin in an overdramatic whisper. He beckoned to him while casting furtive glances down the hallway to where Ichigo, Orihime, and Rukia were preparing to leave.

Puzzled and a little apprehensive, Hitsugaya nevertheless made his way over to the man. After all, he was their host, and it would be rude to ignore him.

"Yes, Kurosaki-san?" he inquired politely.

Isshin slapped him across the back. "Don't be so formal, my dear boy! Why, it'll be confusing if you call all of us Kurosakis by our last name, so you can call me Isshin-san! Or better yet, Otou-san, since you're going to be my son-in-law in the future."

"Mm-hmm," Hitsugaya noncommittally replied, slightly distracted. His eyes strayed to where Karin stood laughing, exchanging a hug with Rukia. Did she do something to her hair? It looked a little different, somehow…

"Hitsugaya-kun, did you hear what I said?" Isshin looked at him knowingly, glancing at Karin, then back to Hitsugaya and raising his eyebrows.

"Hmm? I'm sorry, I didn't get that last bit." Hitsugaya mentally slapped himself. For Kami-sama's sake, he couldn't afford to lose his concentration around Isshin, of all people. The man was more devious than his fukutaichou, and that was saying something.

"Oh, no! I'm perfectly happy to repeat myself." Isshin's eyes twinkled merrily. "I will castrate you if you go near my daughter."

_What?_ Hitsugaya shook his head. He could have sworn Isshin just said—

"To be more specific, I've set up a trap that will take care of it for me, should you get any ideas during the night. Several traps, in fact. Very complicated ones, set here, here, here and here," Isshin said, pulling a diagram of the house from somewhere and pointing out the specific spots. "Now, I have set them so cleverly that there's only one way you can avoid these traps. So I suggest you take this route _here_," and he walked his fingers along the paper, "except you have to be careful of where you step, especially around _this_ one, if you ever plan on having children, which I'm sure you do. Lovely raven-haired children, yes? Oh, by the way, to disable the alarm, you just have to smack it three times. You can find a flashlight by the foot of the stairs, and an extra map nearby. But of course, you still won't be able to get into Karin's room without this key!" He pulled it out and waved it around.

"I…see." What was the point of this? "Kurosaki-san—"

"Otou-san! Call me Otou-san!"

"…Kurosaki-san, I don't understand. Isn't it defeating the purpose of setting the traps if you tell me where they are?"

"I very specifically did not tell you there were traps here and here and here!"

Hitsugaya blinked. "Ye-es. Even so, isn't it defeating the purpose of telling me where they are if the door is still locked?"

"Oh? So you want the key?" Isshin dangled it in front of Hitsugaya's face.

He scowled. "No, of course not. I don't plan on going anywhere near Karin tonight."

"Of course you don't!" Isshin winked in an exaggerated way. "Not tonight, at least! If you do, be sure that I will force you to marry her."

Hitsugaya stared at him.

"Well, if the idea of sneaking into her room strikes you in the future, rest assured that I, her wonderful Otou-san, will do my very best to thwart your dastardly plans! I shall hide this key somewhere you shall never find it!"

So saying, Isshin walked over to the couch and dropped it between the cushions. Then he pranced over to the front door, sobbing his heart out as he bid farewell to his "beautiful, radiant adopted daughters" and dodged the fist of his "mean, awful son."

Hitsugaya walked over to the couch, dug the key out, and put it in his pocket.

Somewhere he'd never find it. Yeah.

He'd give to Karin as soon as—

"Hey. Midget. I want to talk to you."

—as soon as her family members stopped bombarding him with unwanted conversation.

He sighed. "What do you want, Kurosaki? And if you call me a midget again, I swear I will kill you."

Ichigo scowled, then looked over his shoulder to make sure his sisters were out of earshot. "Look, I know you and Karin are just friends—"

"Finally, someone who believes us." He placed his hands in his pockets, feeling the key there.

Ichigo's scowl deepened. "Whatever. Anyway, I know I have no right to tell you to stay away from her. But my point is, if you try and take advantage of her friendship, I will castrate you."

"No need to threaten me, Kurosaki. Your father has already done that."

"I mean it, I will literally—wait, what?" A look of pure shock crossed Ichigo's face. "Tou-san threatened you? I would've expected him to give you the key to her room!"

Hitsugaya abruptly took his hands out of his pockets and crossed his arms over his chest. He would not feel guilty. He would _not_. "Believe me, the conversation was equally unexpected on my end."

"Hmm. Well, then. Just listen to whatever my dad said, okay? And multiply the threats by ten."

Hitsugaya nearly choked.

Ichigo, oblivious to his reaction, just thumped him on the shoulder before moving to the door. Hitsugaya followed him shortly after, and mechanically waved goodbye along with the other inhabitants of the house as Ichigo, Rukia, and Orihime finally left.

Today had definitely proved…interesting.

He supposed it was only to be expected since the Kurosakis were involved.

* * *

**vi.**

* * *

"What'd he want?" Karin asked as she tossed a pillow at him.

Hitsugaya looked up quizzically. "What'd who want?" He turned his attention back to the couch, where he was currently setting up his bed for the night. He'd already changed into a T-shirt and boxers, despite Matsumoto's ridiculous suggestion of just sleeping in the nude. What was _wrong_ with the woman? Shaking his head, he waited for Karin's response.

"My idiot of a brother. What did he want?" Karin replied, clarifying her question.

He coughed into his fist. "Nothing."

She raised an eyebrow skeptically. "I see. Let me guess—castration."

He blinked in surprise.

She laughed. "Don't worry, I didn't suddenly learn to read minds. I just helped him read the riot act to Jinta, and he had on the exact same expression." She sighed. "If it makes you feel better, he said it to Donny and the other guys, too."

"Did your father give them a 'talk,' too?"

"Goat-chin? No. Why?"

"Because he gave one to me, and it was way more disturbing than the one Ichigo had prepared."

"Really? What'd he say?" Karin looked at him curiously.

He shuddered. "You don't want to know."

She studied his expression. "You're probably right. I don't want to know."

He let out a short breath. "Yeah. Oh, before I forget…" He dug his hand into his pocket, pulled out the key, and tossed it to her.

Karin looked down at it, then back at him. "Why do you have the key to my room?"

"Your father gave it to me."

She stared at him silently for a few seconds. "You know, I _definitely_ don't want to know what that conversation was about." She looked down at the key, then smiled wryly. "Better put this in a safe place, huh?"

"Yeah."

She tipped her head to the side. "Hmm. Well, if I ever needed proof of your completely honorable, completely friendly intentions, I have it in my hand." She dangled the key from its chain.

He laughed in response.

Karin laughed, too. Then she glanced at the clock. "Whoa! It's nearly twelve. Huh. Well, I guess it's good night, Toush." And there it was again, that devil-may-care grin of hers that made him want to grin back.

His expression softened as he looked at her. "Good night, Karin." He spoke as he moved to the side while she walked past him. She stopped at his words, turning to face him.

"What is it?" he asked, slightly distracted by her nearness. She was standing so close that he could catch her scent when he breathed in. She smelled like…vanilla? Something sweet and unexpected. And beneath that, he could make out something a little deeper, something familiar. If he just leaned in, he could—

"You called me Karin that time." She half-smiled. "It's been a while. I just—I guess I—" She paused, then sighed.

Meanwhile, Hitsugaya took a step back and shook his head to clear it. "Ah. Well, it would've been a while. It _has_ been six months, one week, and one day since I've last seen you."

Karin went still before looking up at him in perfect silence. Hitsugaya wanted to hit himself. Now he sounded like some crazy stalker. Hastily, he tried backtracking, "I mean, well, maybe not six months _exactly_, but—"

He stopped as she shook her head. "No. It's been six months, one week, and one day. _Exactly_. I've been counting, too."

"Oh." He chuckled nervously. "Glad it wasn't just me, then."

"Mm-hmm." Karin nodded once before speaking. "Toushirou, don't take this the wrong way, okay?" And suddenly she was moving, throwing her arms around his waist and squeezing tight.

Hitsugaya froze, holding his arms stiffly at his side while his brain short-circuited. They stayed like that for five seconds before Karin stepped away.

"Sorry," she said. "I just—I missed you."

He coughed into his fist. "Yeah. I-I missed you, too."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Toush, are you blushing?" she asked, her smile widening.

"_No_."

"You are, you are!" She started chuckling. "I don't believe this! The calm and collected taichou, the icy Hitsugaya Toushirou is _blushing_ because a girl hugged him!"

Scowling, he immediately walked away and threw himself onto the couch. He ignored her as she made her way to the stairs. Stopping at the first step, she turned back and said, "'Night, Toush! Don't let the couch bugs bite." And laughing, she ran up the steps.

He waited until he heard her bedroom door close, and then pulled the thin blanket over himself. He was _not_ blushing. He was not!

Grumbling, he settled himself more comfortably on the couch, digging out a TV remote, a spoon, and a rabbit plushie, all of which he set on the floor next to him (was the Kurosakis' couch some sort of black hole for random debris?). And then he was left lying on the couch in silence, staring up at the ceiling.

Which gave him rather too much to remember _exactly_ how it felt when Karin hugged him, her head right under his chin, her arms squeezing tight, her breasts—

_Alright, imagination, I think that's enough for tonight._

He turned over abruptly, clenching his eyes closed and commanding himself to _go to sleep_. Burrowing deeper into the couch, he breathed in deeply—and caught the lingering scent of vanilla and something deeper, something familiar.

And that's how he fell asleep, with Karin's scent following him into his dreams.

* * *

**Endnote: And there you have it—chapter six of **_**Midnight Snow**_**, more than a year after we first published this (we're really sorry for that, by the way).**

**First off, we'd like to thank everybody for reading this, both new readers and the faithful fans who've been tearing their hair out in frustration, waiting for us to get off our butts and write the next chapter. Thank you so much for sticking with us! **

**We'd also like to give special thanks to those who have also alerted, reviewed, or added this story to their favorites. The following is a list of these wonderful people, to whom we owe much gratitude: Spockie, anna1594, Turtle-chan in Blue, strawberryfishcakes, Tharrow, ticking-clocks8, XX825N12319W, oOoHKoOo, Red-Haired-Jack, NarayaEdea, ichilover3, Revanent, Life is Full Of Regrets, Tasogare X, Gray Tasare, Ash-chan13, Shizuku700, lilithchild, Auditory Eden, irsistort, Soul-Searcher16, ScienceAngel, xkaleidoscopex, Sparanda, ReaperDuckling, Reiuko, BlueNekoChan, Thelanblossom, Maii04, lazyguy90, omnipotent Porunga, Switmikan74, WinterMission, louisewattis, spinachmuncher, StuffedLion, fanofanime, Ginevra1988, fluco99, ero-sama 8669, meggie-moo s, DeathMeetsLife, myrrdinowl, Quiet Moon, lavenderfire, tichtich2, Azaria Stromsis, Shinku no tamashi, MoOmOo753951, Memys, Holographic Imaging, darkness surrounds me, blackpanther340, Lady Drama, HiyoriSarugaki731, Ziya Hitsugaya, Bloomer123, Akichan12, xxIciclebloomxx, thornedsunflower', Autumn Amber, Etiena, pinkfire101, Virivie, anniabella, KittyRiotLuvsYew053, Sangheili Knight, ThePeopleStillSleeping, Falling through the Snow, Selenay of Antioch, sweetcove, MarietheNeko, Cereza2000, bleach-gurl-katie, wowwowcom, Grim Wolf, GOdNevErSaIdLoVeLiFe, McIntyre, knightlygirl, MisplacedWit, misskarolinax, Photophobic, marife7, puma1sunfire, Nyxtolouloudo, SkyDancer101, Crazy4Ever, KyaKayToneRouko, ****TWI-hard kristine101, JustPlainDontAsk, Ryfee, Cor-chan, Star Fata, btstfn, Eye of a Hawk, thepenultimatefailure, HitsuKarin Lurver, ObsidianPhantom, FairoNeko, MeteorLeopard, unityatwork, matthias86, SweMiKi, HitsuKarinluv, ****Goku's Halo, Alexmommy, UnwittinglyInLove, gaaralover1989, and paws-bells****. **

**(If we've forgotten you or spelled your name wrong, PLEASE TELL US! Seriously, I feel so guilty when I notice I forgot somebody or got their name wrong. T_T)**

**Note: Certain pen names, namely those with a period in the middle, have been spelled wrong so that Document Manager will not erase them. We apologize to anyone who is offended by this.**

**Additional Notes: Tokyo University, the school Karin wants to attend, and the one that Uryuu is attending now, is a real university, and is considered to be the considered to be the best in Japan. It is intensely difficult to get in, hence Karin's studyholic tendencies.**

**And finally, the last chapter's title was from the poem "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" by William Wordsworth. Congratulations to everyone who guessed it right!**

**Thank you for reading, and please review! :D **


	7. Broken Dreams May Find Your Heart

**Author's Note: Hi, everybody! We are proud to present Chapter Seven of **_**Midnight Snow**_**. Thanks for reading folks, and we hope you enjoy! :D**

**WARNING: Upcoming warnings of RenRuki and IchiHime. Please feel free to criticize my writing, but not the pairings. Thank you.**

**Normal = prose, **_**italics**_** = thoughts or inner conversations **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. They belong to Tite Kubo. However, if there was an alternate universe where I do own Bleach, I will promptly give my left arm to switch with my other self. I also do not own any of the chapter titles. Cookies for anyone who guesses which poems they're from. :)**

* * *

**Chapter Seven: Broken Dreams May Find Your Heart at Dusk**

* * *

**i.**

* * *

He dreamed of midnight snow and icy darkness, of deadened silence and endless night. He dreamed of a castle made of shadows haunting the edge of his inner world. He stood alone in the middle of the frozen landscape, which stretched as far as the eye could see, stopped only by the mountains and the castle in the east.

He dreamed of howling winds and biting cold and the full, tearing violence that was at the heart of winter.

There were no dragons.

He dreamed of a voice, a woman's voice, soft and low and filled with laughter. Who was it? If she spoke just a little louder, he was sure he would be able to figure out her identity…if the wind would just _stop_ for a second…

And then it did.

And so silence reigned, cold and eerie. It pressed down on him, a heavy, chilling load which pushed against his skin, invaded the marrow of his bones, wrapped its icy hands around his heart. It was a silence that reached into the very deepest part of his soul, a silence that he'd touched again and again over the years, a silence that he knew well, a silence as familiar as an old friend, a silence as unsettling as an ancient enemy.

It was the silence of death.

He shivered from the weight of it and drew in a breath to break it, dispel it, _shatter _it—

—but he never got the chance, because _she_ broke it for him.

"You are failing us," she whispered, she screamed. Her voice was as deafening as the strongest maelstrom, as quiet as the smallest breath of air. "You are failing her." Her voice was a condemnation, an accusation, an outcry of anger, and a statement of despair all in one. "You are _failing_ her!"

The wind came roaring back and splintered the silence.

The dragon, the one made of cloud and wind and wrath, appeared before him. The winds circled around her, pushing against him and almost driving him to his knees. She was screaming with rage, shrieking with near hopelessness, sounding a battle cry of sadness and intense agony.

"My mistress is dying! She is dying while you do _nothing_!"

He screamed back, "What do you _want_? I don't even know who you're talking about!" But his words were stolen by the winds, swallowed up by the storm. In response, the dragon only threw her head back and howled so loudly that the skies broke apart into a million tiny shards, all of them falling, falling, falling down like jagged rain, like broken tears that pierced his skin and consumed him. He was bleeding, gasping, _dying_—

And he opened his eyes to the sight of the Kurosakis' living room ceiling. His makeshift bed on the couch was rather disheveled, with his pillow on the floor and his blanket tangled up by his feet. He sat up, pressing the heels of his hands against his eyes.

He hissed through his teeth. "Not_ again_." What was wrong with him? The dreams kept on getting worse and worse. Now the dragon was homicidal and enraged, and he didn't have a clue why. Why did she sound so familiar? Who was her master? Why was he supposed to save her, and how was he supposed to do it?

"Why am I having these dreams in the first place?" he grumbled. Sighing in frustration, he threw himself back onto the couch. Reaching out to the nearby coffee table, he picked up his cell phone and checked the time.

_4:30 a.m._, blinked the screen.

Wonderful. Barely four and a half hours of restless sleep.

Getting up, he made his way over to the restroom, moving his way past the kitchen and stubbing his toe against the table only once (hey, it was pitch-black, and it's not like being a shinigami gave him the ability to see in the dark).

However, once he got there, the doorknob refused to turn. That's when he noticed the note written in glow-in-the-dark marker:

_Hello, my lovely future son-in-law! This restroom is temporarily out of order. Please use the one upstairs. :D_

_Love, _

_Otou-san_

Really.

_Really? _

This was just ridiculous.

Did Kurosaki-san actually expect him to believe that the downstairs restroom was oh-so-conveniently broken, so of course he had to use the restroom upstairs that _coincidently_ went right past Karin's room?

Snorting, Hitsugaya pushed the door open—only to freeze in surprise.

He stared in disbelief at the spot by the sink where the Kurosaki's downstairs toilet used to be.

In its place was a neon pink note:

_Otou-sama told you so. :P_

What. The. BLEEP.

Hitsugaya closed his eyes and slowly counted to ten.

Years of dealing with the Kurosakis had taught Hitsugaya that their actions in no way, shape, or form resembled those of a normal person's. As a result, when Kurosaki Isshin randomly started sobbing and tried to hug a two-dimensional poster of his deceased wife (obviously displaying mental instability), or attempted to build a time machine out of an old microwave, a toaster oven, and a hairdryer (blatantly showing a disregard for the laws of physics), or even suggested that he and Kurosaki were in love (…what were you supposed to say to _that_…?), Hitsugaya no longer saw it as an act of insanity.

It was just Isshin Kurosaki being (stupid, moronic, fiendishly diabolical) Isshin Kurosaki.

Still, even this was a new low for him.

Grumbling, Hitsugaya made his way back to the couch and mutinously flopped down. If Isshin thought Hitsugaya would just blindly follow his agenda, he was gravely mistaken.

Five minutes later, Hitsugaya wrenched the blankets off and muttered under his breath: "Dumb gigai with its stupidly small bladder…what the hell does the research department think it's getting paid for?...damn Kurosaki-san…damn all the Kurosakis, actually…well, except for Karin…why did I let Yuzu-san refill my glass the third time? _Why?_"

Looking grimly up the staircase, Hitsugaya laid out his options:

1. He ignores his pride, goes upstairs, relieves his bladder, and tries to get back downstairs with the least amount of opportunities for Isshin to take pictures.

2. He ignores his bladder and suffers from kidney failure a century from now...

3. He races up the stairs, kills Isshin Kurosaki before he can take any pictures, goes to the bathroom, and then gets rid of the body at his own convenience.

While he was truly fond of option three, Hitsugaya figured _someone_ would object to the death of the village idiot, even if he figured said village would be a much happier place without one.

So that left option two (his bladder screamed in protest) or option one…which wasn't much better (he could see Matsumoto selling newspapers proclaiming "DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHEN TAICHOU LOST HIS VIRGINITY?").

Hitsugaya thought carefully and went with option one. After all, he was a taichou, wasn't he? One of the most powerful people in Seireitei, yes? He'd faced more deadly opponents than he cared to remember; he could certainly handle one measly madman. He just had to be smart about it.

* * *

**ii.**

* * *

Anyone who happened to be awake at 4:15 a.m. and looking through the windows of the Kurosaki household would have noticed something…odd.

Several somethings, actually.

A shape in the darkness, standing near the foot of the stairs.

A brief illumination of light and a glimpse of a creased paper, such as one might see if a flashlight was quickly shined onto a crudely drawn map and hastily memorized.

A shape in the darkness, shifting, almost as if it were tucking a piece of paper and a cylindrical object into its waistband.

Then…nothing.

The casual stalker-like passerby might have then imagined that its earlier observations were figments of its imagination. However, if one were in possession of night vision and a better view of the interior of the house, one would have seen a figure moving rapidly up the stairs in a zigzag fashion. Then, once it reached the second landing, it would have leapt up and run along the wall, landing briefly on the third step of the second flight of stairs before jumping onto the handrail, balancing on it for a few seconds, and then somersaulting onto the floor of the hallway. The figure would then tumble, crawl, stand and pause, sidestep carefully, then nimbly skip its way down the hallway and stop on the third door to the right. It opened it and quickly slipped in, shutting the door closed.

(It did not, I repeat, _did not _pause imperceptibly before the first door to the left.)

Even more impressive than the display of acrobatics was the fact the figure did all this without making a single sound.

Well, right until he flushed the toilet and washed his hands, that is.

Walking out of the restroom, Toushirou eyed the hallway contemplatively. He was _reasonably_ certain that Kurosaki-san hadn't put any actual traps there—probably just posted a camera somewhere, but still. It was best to be cautious.

He placed a hand on the wall and stepped forward, preparing to launch himself sideways and bypass the floor entirely (he didn't feel like repeating the experience of skipping like a first-grade girl playing hopscotch), when the spot beneath his foot started glowing.

_What the_—

_SHING._

Hitsugaya lifted his foot immediately, but it was too late. The bakudo spell had been activated, and he was hanging from the ceiling by his left foot like some sort of drunken fruit bat before he could even blink, much less speak a counter-spell.

_The map hadn't said there would be any traps there!_ screamed a tiny part of Hitsugaya's mind. The rest of it was going, _WHY ARE THERE ACTUALLY TRAPS THERE?_

_You trusted the word of Kurosaki Isshin? Not your wisest decision, my master,_ Hyourinmaru pitched in, amused, before retreating back into their inner world.

_Oh, shut up while I get myself out of this mess_. Hitsugaya rolled his eyes and set about preparing the proper chant, when he heard a manic-sounding snicker come from behind him.

Hitsugaya groaned. _Don't tell me…_

"Aha!" whispered a particularly dramatic-sounding voice. "I have caught you, my misguided prey! Tonight is not the night you shall achieve your dastardly goal of deflowering my fair, maidenly daughter!"

Isshin popped up in front of him, his face illuminated by a flashlight as he gleefully crouched down to Hitsugaya's head-level, which was about two feet off the floor. Hitsugaya squashed the urge to knock him unconscious with a kick from his free leg and instead took a deep breath before speaking. "Hello, Kurosaki-san. I'm afraid you are mistaken. I was merely trying to get back to the living room after using the restroom. I had no intention of disturbing Yuzu-san, whom I assume is the daughter you are referring to, as Karin is neither fair-haired nor maidenly, though I did not intend to wake her either. Kindly let me down, please, so I can continue to not disturb them."

There. He thought he sounded quite reasonable, given the situation.

Isshin merely waggled his finger at him, which was somehow more annoying from an upside-down perspective. "Nuh-uh! Pretty words will not save you, my boy! You clearly exited Karin's room!" He tapped the door Hitsugaya had indeed vacated, raising his eyebrows expectantly.

"…that's the restroom, Kurosaki-san."

Isshin blinked, opened the door, stuck his head in, closed it, and blinked again. "Oh. Hmm. That's odd."

Hitsugaya scowled. "What's odd? And would you please let me down already?"

Isshin pushed him to the side and walked around him. "Of course, of course, my lovely future-son-in-law. I just have to figure out how you're suspended from the ceiling. I could have sworn I put the hanging snare in front of Karin's roo—"

_Twang. _

_SWOOSH._

"Ah! Here it is!"

Hitsugaya could only stare in disbelief as Isshin grinned at him, suddenly right-side up again as he, too, swung gently from the ceiling.

"What the hell is wrong with you? How could you not know where your own traps are?" he shouted. Or, well, shout-whispered. No point in waking Karin and have her laugh her butt off at the sight of him.

Isshin pouted. "But I do know where my traps are! I said there should be one in front of Karin's door, and there was! I even identified the type!"

"Then why didn't you avoid it like any _sane _person would—never mind. Forget I said anything. Just make yourself useful and undo the bakudo on me since you _obviously_ don't know where you placed all the traps, especially since you forgot to mark the one that's holding me up on the stupid map!"

"So you did use it!"

"That's not the point!"

"Actually, it _is_ the point since all my traps _were _on the map. And I can't use bakudo spells anymore. So that trap isn't mine."

"…then whose trap am I in?" Hitsugaya said threateningly. Isshin merely shrugged, then tensed as footsteps padded down the hallway from Yuzu's room.

"Taichou~! My, my, my, what a surprise! I can't believe you tried to sneak into Karin's room!" Matsumoto's signature giggle rang out, causing Hitsugaya to groan internally. Of course his fukutaichou would set up her own traps. Of course. After all, it wasn't as if Kurosaki Isshin had a monopoly on insane behavior.

Matsumoto, who was making her way without the aid of a flashlight, reached out and smacked Hitsugaya's leg.

Hitsugaya lost his tenuous hold on his temper. "Matsumoto! Let me down this instant!"

"Now, now, Taichou, just because I caught you red-handed doesn't mean you should—"

"_Nobody _caught me doing _anything_ other than trying to use the _restroom_! Kami-sama, the next person who accuses me of trying to break into Karin's room is going to get their ass handed to them on a frozen platter!"

Matsumoto frowned. "But this is Karin's room, right?"

_"It's the restroom."_

"No," Matsumoto gasped, reaching for the doorknob. "Really?"

"Yes, really." For the love of Kami-sama, was he the only person in this house who knew where everything was supposed to be located?

"I checked!" Isshin cheerfully added.

"Oh, Isshin-san! I didn't see you there! Are you trying to get to the restroom? I'll move Taichou out of your way in just a second."

"Ah, no, actually. You see, I was dutifully minding my own business when—"

"He managed to get himself caught in his own trap and is stuck in the same predicament as myself. And what part of ensnaring your houseguest is minding your own damn business?"

"When it prevents said houseguest from ravaging my beautiful daughter!"

Matsumoto nodded happily. "How admirable! You're such a devoted father, Isshin-san! Here, why don't I grab some scissors from the kitchen and cut you down. Then we can take embarrassing photos of Taichou together."

"A genius plan! I expect no less from the ally who had the same idea to trap my most devious future-son-in-law _in flagrante delicto_!"

"You're both lunatics! Now somebody get me down this instant!"

Matsumoto, gifted with years of selective deafness, ignored him and made for the stairs. Regrettably, she also ignored Isshin's sudden warning: "Oh, wait a sec—"

_Click. _SWISH. "Ahhhh!"

"—ond-I-think-I-put-a-trap-there. Ah, well. Too late now, I suppose."

Matsumoto was also suspended from the ceiling, this time in some sort of net. Hitsugaya could just barely see her flailing beyond Isshin, who speaking again. "Rangiku-chan, do not struggle, you'll activate the alarm system."

_WOOOOOOO. WOOOOOOO._

"Oh, dear. There we go again. My timing tonight is _not _going well."

_WOOOOOO. WOOOOOOO._

"You! Idiotic! MADMAN!" Hitsugaya raged, struggling against his bonds. For the love of Kami-sama, which moron had the bright idea to put reiatsu suppressors in gigais? "Turn the damn thing off! You're going to wake the whole neighborhood up!"

_WOOOOOOO. WOOOOOOOOO. WOOOOOOOOO._

Isshin might have made a sound that may or may not have been a reply, but he was cut short by the rather painful impact of Karin's bedroom door slamming into his face and upper extremities.

"_What the hell is going on here?"_

* * *

**iii.**

* * *

After saying goodnight to Toushirou, Karin had retreated to her bedroom, her mood still buoyed up by the events of the day. It really_ was_ good to have her best friend back in town. Plus, her brother and his friends were back, too, a whole group of highly entertaining shinigami were visiting, Rukia and Renji were finally going to tie the knot in a week, and tomorrow she'd kick Toush's butt in soccer.

Life was looking pretty good.

With that thought, she drifted off to sleep, a smile still playing about her lips as she closed her eyes—

—only to open them to the utter darkness of a moonless night, of a starless sky.

Blackness surrounded her, trapped her, left her with nothing to see or guide her. Shadows draped themselves around her eyes, as tangible as silken shrouds binding her, blinding her—her sight lost, taken, stolen by the dark.

Silence pressed down upon her, as heavy as chains, as solemn as death, endless and implacable. She drew breath to break it, stopping when she realized that not even her swift inhalation made a sound, that not even her beating heart could be heard.

Cold, unyielding stone met her fingers as she stretched out a hand, pressed her palm to the wall and gently pushed, using the steady surface to ground herself. Smooth, cool marble graced her feet as she walked forward into the darkness. Biting breezes and gentle snow kissed her face as at last she reached the familiar edge of her balcony, leaving her bare to the sky.

Night had claimed her for its own: shadows formed her very bones, silence formed her very breath, winter formed her very blood.

For one perfect, fleeting moment, she and the night were one.

Then lightning obliterated the darkness, thunder shattered the silence, and out of the storm emerged her dragon, head reared back as she screamed anguish and defiance. Karin's eyes met the dragon's gaze as her hands sought out something, anything, to hold on to as a thousand howling winds raged against her.

"What do you _WANT_?" she screamed.

Miraculously, the dragon heard her over the din. "I want what I have always wanted. I want you to listen to me. Listen!"

"I _am_ listening!" Karin brought her fist down upon the balcony railing, frustrated.

"Then why do you not hear me? Why do you ignore my warnings? We are in danger—you are in danger!"

"I'm in danger? From what! Would you stop your cryptic mumbo-jumbo and just say what you mean for once!"

The storm grew worse as the dragon drew itself up and looked directly at her. Karin stared straight into her eyes, a part of her mind noting that the dragon's irises were the same dark gray as her own. "Very well, mistress. Let me be clear."

Lightning split the sky, illuminating the dragon's elegant face and ominously revealing the quiet fear in her eyes.

"You are going to die."

"What!" screamed Karin, but her voice was drowned out by the clap of thunder and the wailing wind. "What do you mean I'm going to die?"

The dragon opened its mouth to answer but the gales finally managed to pry Karin's fingers loose, and the screaming storm echoed in her ears as she closed her eyes—

And opened them once again to utter darkness and an awful sound.

_WOOOOOOOOOOOOO. WOOOOOOOOOOOO. WOOOOOOOOOOOO._

What the freakin' hell?

Karin climbed out of bed and threw open the door, ready to kick the ass of whoever had rudely interrupted her sleep.

* * *

**iv.**

* * *

As an irate Kurosaki Karin stepped into the hallway, Hitsugaya was filled with a sense of relief. "Kurosaki! Over here! I need your help!"

_WOOOOOOOOO. WOOOOOOOOO._

"Toush? Is that you? What are you doing over there? And why are you—are you tied _up_—whoa!"

Unfortunately for all parties involved, this was the moment when the laws of motion decreed that Isshin (who had been launched through the air when Karin opened her door) had gathered enough momentum and met enough resistance (via the snare holding him in place) to swing back in a graceful arc and collide directly with his daughter.

Hitsugaya could only watch in horror as she stumbled forward.

_Thwang._ "What the—hey!" _Thump. Thump._ "There's something around my ankles!" _Thump. Thump._ "Goat-chin, I'm going to murder you!"

_WOOOOOOO. WOOOOOOOOOOOO._

"Karin, my most beautiful daughter! Please smack the wall right there! Yes, there!"

"You crazy bastard, I'm gonna smash your face in!" _Thunk._

The alarm mercifully cut off. Isshin's cheerful voice sounded much clearer. "Now watch out, you don't want to accidentally trigger—"

_Thunk. BOOM._

"Why is the wall_ glowing_?" Karin screamed.

"Oh, that's one of mine!"

"Matsumoto? Oh, I should've known you—gah!"

Karin was propelled forward as a glowing net-like bakudo erupted from the wall, sending her crashing straight into Hitsugaya and resulting in a messy tangle of arms, legs, and other angry teenage body parts.

Hitsugaya thought to himself, _I_ knew _I should have gone with option three_.

* * *

**v.**

* * *

In the last five minutes or so, she was forcibly woken from her dream/nightmare (_Right when it was getting to the good part, too_), subjected to ear-piercing wails (_Why the hell didn't Yuzu wake up? Kami, she really _does _sleep like the dead_), viciously attacked by her father (_Of _course _he'd be successful when he wasn't even trying_), made to hop around with her feet bound like some demented bunny (_Who the freak sold Goat-chin bolas? I'm gonna kill Urahara if it was him_), caught in some sort of high-level kido spell-thing (_Matsumoto's definitely third on my hit list_), and was now forced into new levels of physical intimacy with her best friend (_Bleep_).

"Kurosaki, would you _please_ stop wiggling?" Toushirou said, his words slightly muffled against her shins.

That, of course, only caused her to wiggle more.

"Toush, stop talking, it tickles!" she hissed back, trying to ease her arms out of the spell they were caught in. Luck wasn't on her side, though, and the glowing bonds didn't budge an inch as they kept her arms curled around Toushirou's knees. "Fantastic. I can't move at all. You?"

"Not really, no. My maneuverability was limited in the first place, and you getting stuck to me made it worse."

Matsumoto's kido spell was meant to act as a sideways, sticky net-thing that would leave its intended victim plastered against the wall. Unfortunately, Toushirou happened to be closer, so the force of the spell threw Karin against him—she'd already been unsteady from the bolas tying her ankles together, so she'd flung her arms around the nearest semi-steady object, which happened to be Toushirou's legs. The spell then wrapped the two of them together like some freakish sushi roll, with Karin's bound feet hovering a few inches above the ground and her face pressed against his knees, and Toushirou's head was nestled against her thighs and his arms were locked around her lower back. Their bodies were pressed tightly together and they had no way to extricate themselves from the situation without some…creative shifting.

"Oh, Kami, I'm going to have to shimmy my hips or something, aren't I?" Karin groaned.

"Do _not_. Even. Dare."

"Oh, yeah, that'd be really awkward for you, huh?" Karin could feel where his head rested near said hips.

"That's the understatement of the century, Kurosaki." Toushirou shook his head, which again caused Karin to involuntarily wiggle.

"I thought I told you to stop moving."

"You stop it, Toush! Your stupid gravity-defying hair is tickling my shins."

"Well, actually, if you think about it, since I'm upside down it's _obeying_ gravity for once, isn't it?"

"Who cares? Quit moving your head, or I swear I'm gonna kick you so hard not even Hime-nee will be able to fix your face!"

"If you can accomplish that feat in your current position, then you should use your flexibility to get us out of this mess!"

"Argh! You can be so—so—"

"So _what_?"

"Annoying!"

And so it went for the next ten minutes.

* * *

**vi.**

* * *

Meanwhile, Matsumoto and Isshin were watching in fascinated silence from the other end of the hall—or, well, listening, as it was too dark to actually see anything.

"Hmmm. I have to say the initial plan to capture some blackmail photos is failing miserably," Isshin said.

"Yeah, it really is, isn't it? And now they're fighting…"

"You don't think we can interpret it as them releasing steam from all their pent-up sexual tension?"

"…"

"…I suppose not."

"…what are you guys doing?"

Isshin blinked in surprise at the new voice. "Kon? Is that you? I wasn't aware that you were home!"

The stuffed lion was peeking its head out from the second door on the right—the room Yuzu was currently sharing with Matsumoto.

"Yeah, well, something or another happened, and I thought it might be nice to come back and visit for a while," Kon replied a tad defensively.

Isshin grinned. "Ah! I see. Lirin caught you flirting with some high-schoolers, and the subsequent damage to your human gigai was so bad that you had to use your old body while Urahara was fixing it, right? Why didn't you just say so? We'd have welcomed you back with open arms!"

Kon stared at the upside-down man. "Because when you say it like that it sounds pathetic. And people won't make fun of me if they don't know I'm back."

"And it makes it easier to spy on visitors like Matsumoto-chan here, hmm?"

Kon shuffled his feet. "That, too."

"Hey! I knew that somebody was peeping, but Yuzu-chan didn't believe me!" Matsumoto said. "Even when I told her my pervert-sensor was never wrong!"

Isshin nodded sagely. "Ah, yes. Pervert-sensors never steer you wrong."

Kon waved his hands. "Back to the subject, people. Why the hell is everyone tied up, and why are those two lovebirds over there yelling loud enough to wake the dead? Are you guys shooting some sort of weird BDSM porno I'm not aware of? I gotta tell you, I don't think Yuzu-chan's going to stand for it, and she's gonna wake up any second now, what with the racket and everything." He waved a paw at Karin and Hitsugaya, who by this time had finally wound down and noticed the new presence.

"Kon? Is that you? Cut us the hell down! Right now! Or I'm telling Yuzu!"

Kon jumped guiltily and ran towards them. "Okay, okay! No need to threaten a man, geez."

Matsumoto looked in Isshin's general direction. "She didn't actually finish that threat. What would she tell Yuzu-chan?"

"If Kon is involved, trust me, Matsumoto, there's_ something_," Karin said. "Now move faster, you perverted stuffed animal!"

"Hey, hey! Give me some time here—I have to fetch scissors. It's not like these teeth are real!"

Kon made his way through Yuzu's doorway, only to get stomped on by a bunny slipper-clad foot.

"Oof!"

"Oh, shit. Yuzu's awake." Karin sounded horrified. Beyond her, Hitsugaya could hear Isshin's audible gulp and Matsumoto's gasp.

"Is that a bad thing? Your sister is arguably the most competent person in your family, Kurosaki."

"Shhh! Keep quiet. We're dealing with Yuzu in her natural state."

"…natural state?"

"Shhh," came from Karin, Isshin, and Matsumoto.

"Matsumoto, did you just—"

"Shhh! You haven't seen her like this, Taichou!"

Silence filled the hallway as Yuzu calmly stepped out of her room—and just stood there.

"Kurosaki, don't you think we should ask her for help?" Hitsugaya whispered.

"It all depends," she murmured back.

"On what?"

"On the timing. It's five o'clock, right?"

"It should be by now."

"Then we'll probably be safe. We just have to hold on until she walks down the stairs."

"Walks down the—why would we let her go without helping us?"

"Because Yuzu is Mr. Hyde before she's had her coffee! She'll be fine once she's had her first cup and started breakfast and watched the sun rise a little—then she'll walk back upstairs to make her bed and it'll be safe to ask for her help then."

"…that could take an hour."

"You're right. We'll have Kon risk his life and cut us down, then you can do your voodoo magic—"

"Kido."

"—voodoo magic, you can sneak downstairs, I'll go back to bed, and everything'll be fine."

"What about us?" Isshin stage-whispered.

"Who the hell cares about you? It's your own damn fault you're in that mess, and for all I care you can hang there as my punching bag until—oh, oh, she's moving. And—oh, no, she's muttering this morning."

Yuzu was indeed muttering something that suspiciously sounded like: "…break…_mutter_…head…_mutter_...keen…_mutter_…lung…_mutter_…cook…_mutter_…"

"What is she _saying_?" Hitsugaya asked, horror-struck.

Yuzu cut off suddenly right before she reached Isshin, raising her finger: "Make breakfast, head to market, clean living room, do laundry, then cook dinner." She tilted her head to the side. "That should be it." Nodding decisively, she stepped forward and ran into Isshin.

"Oof!"

"Rrrrgh!"

Yuzu reached out a hand and punched Isshin in the gut.

"Ow!"

"Stupid Karin, leaving her stupid equipment everywhere, why do I even bother, stupid, stupid, stupid." Each word was punctuated with an additional punch.

"Is that _Yuzu_?"

"Who else would it be, Toush?"

"But she's beating up your father!"

"Hey, don't you know it's always the nice ones who are the scariest? Now be quiet, you don't want her to focus on us instead."

"D-darling Yuzu-chan! It's your beloved Tou-san!" Isshin said.

For the first time that morning, Yuzu fully opened her eyes, taking the sight of her bruised and battered father in. "Oh. It's _you_. I should have known." Her voice was absolutely dripping in loathing.

"Yes, yes, it's Tou-san! Now—ow, ow, ow!"

Yuzu resumed punching him. "Stupid Daddy, always making a mess, never cleaning up, constantly yelling, yelling, yelling, why can't you ever shut up for once, punching Ichi-nii, kicking doors down, putting holes in the wall. Who do you think does the plastering, huh, punk? Huh?"

Karin groaned softly. "Ohh, she's lost it now."

"—and the cooking, don't even get me started on the cooking. One thing, I give you one thing to do, and of course you burn it, you always burn it. And your beard, too! That cost ¥2500 (A/N: Approximately $28.00). The lamb, not your beard, don't be stupid! And why can't you ever be nice to guests, no wonder Toushirou-kun won't ask Karin out, and no wonder Onii-chan never visits anymore, and no wonder Rukia-nee-chan isn't staying with us! Hn! And the wedding—so much to do, so much work I put in, and do I get any help from you? No! I hate you!"

"Oh, yeah," Matsumoto whispered. "Here comes the killing blow."

Yuzu raised her hands in a karate chop. Isshin frantically tried to get out of his bonds.

"D-darling, stop! You don't want to do this!"

Yuzu scowled. "Shut up, this is my dream. You don't get to talk unless you're screaming."

"D-dream?"

"Yeah. Obviously. You're tied up, and Karin's hugging Toushirou-kun, and Rangiku-san is cheering me on, and I'm squishing Kon-san underfoot. It's my favorite dream again, right?"

"She thinks it's a dream?" Hitsugaya said.

"She's had this one _before_?" Karin said.

"Of course I've had this one before. I always get nice dreams when I cook those nice mushrooms from Urahara-san for dinner."

"She buys _mushrooms_ from _Urahara_?" Kon asked, sounding as if he was mentally scarred for life. "I've eaten dinner here!"

"Well, that explains my hallucinations earlier," Matsumoto chipped in.

"Mm-hm. Aren't they nice? Now, Daddy, it is time for justice to be served. Farewell. I will not miss you, and I never liked your whistles."

She pulled a pair of scissors from behind her back.

Kon blinked. "So that's where they were."

"Oh, _shit_. Yuzu, don't! It's not a dream, it's not a dream, wake up!" Karin screamed.

Yuzu paused mid-stab. "Huh. That's funny. Usually you're cheering me on by now, Karin."

"And in any other situation, believe me, I'd tell you to go for it, but this is reality! Reality! And that'll be real blood bursting out of his heart."

"That sounds nice."

"No, no, no! It's—it'll—it'll stain the bunny slippers Jinta bought you!"

Yuzu looked down. "Oh, you're right." She looked mournfully at Isshin's gut. "Maybe some other dream. I have to go make breakfast now." And she walked calmly away, tossing the scissors carelessly aside.

"Ouch! The bitch stabbed me!"

"Shut up, Kon, she can sew you back up again later."

"But she'll put the flowers and the bonnets on me again!"

"If you want, there's always Ishida. He's back in town for the wedding, too."

"Him, then, him!"

"Of course, Nemu-san's staying with him, and I'm sure she'd _love_ to examine you."

"Never mind, crazy bitch it is!"

"Oh, why hello there, Matsumoto-san. That net looks particularly fetching on you. Is Hisagi-san into mermaid-cosplay now?"

"…"

"I'll take that as a yes. Don't worry, secret's safe with me. Good-bye now, and don't let the madman out of his chains. I'll be back for him later."

"…is she gone now?" Kon asked. "And why didn't you tell me she was still in earshot!"

"Shut up, remove the scissors from your chest, and cut us down. Now."

"Yes, ma'am."

* * *

**vii.**

* * *

Fifteen minutes, the two of them were sprawled on the couch, their heads resting at opposite ends.

"…Kurosaki, I'm never sleeping over again. Ever."

"Can't say I blame you, Toush."

"You never thought to warn me about your sister's homicidal alter-ego?"

"Well, she never really pops up that often. Only when Yuzu's particularly stressed."

"Really?"

"Yeah, usually she limits herself to grievous bodily harm, not murder."

"…"

"…okay, that sounded better in my head."

"Why doesn't anybody stop her?"

"The only people she attacks are my father and my brother. And they're pretty much indestructible, so it's okay. Besides, whenever we try to tell her, she just looks at us funny and demands to take our temperature."

"She doesn't believe you? Or remember?"

"Well, _you_ wouldn't believe it if you hadn't seen it. And, no, I don't think so. It's kind of her subconscious desires and repressed issues coming out."

"Her instincts tell her to kill your father?"

"Wasn't that what you wanted to do earlier?"

"Point taken."

"Uh-huh."

"She has good instincts."

"Right?"

"Right."

"…"

"…"

They lay quiet for a while before Karin shifted a little, her movements a little discomfited.

"Hey, Toush?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you mind if I just stayed here? I have to get up in a few hours anyway and—and—"

"It's fine."

"Oh. Good."

"Mm." He threw an arm over his eyes.

"…you really don't mind?"

"Why would I mind?" he mumbled, already halfway back to sleep.

"Well, earlier, when we were—and now, since I'm—and I just want to make sure it's not weird for you, being a guy and all."

He sat up and stared at her. "Kurosaki, do not believe my fukutaichou. Nothing about my feelings toward you would make close proximity with you awkward, so long as you do not feel the need to forcibly tie me to you upside down." Having said his piece, he dropped back onto the cushions.

She giggled. "That _was_ awkward, wasn't it, Toush?"

"Mm."

"…"

"…"

"Still awake?"

"Hn."

"Toush…?"

"Mmrm."

"It's just…I had a weird dream tonight."

"…"

"…Toush?"

"…"

"You there?"

"…"

Karin let out a deep breath. "Good night, Toushirou. I'll tell you in the morning."

And with that, Karin fell back asleep, curled next to the person she trusted most in the whole world, separated only by silence, shadows, and secrets.

* * *

**Endnote: The last chapter title is also the title of the poem from which it came, "When a Beggar Beholds You," author unknown, translated from the Chinese by. Thank you for reading. :) **

**To all of you who have forlornly given up on the hope of us ever updating, we are extremely sorry and extremely grateful if you're reading this anyway. Real life kinda…took over. Good stuff happened, bad stuff happened, but we finally made it back to the world of fanfic authorhood. Don't know how long we'll be staying, but we're grateful anyway to all of you, especially those who who've been here from the beginning. Thank you also to those of you who wandered over while we were absent, and those who are just discovering us now. We're glad you've read our work and we hope you have enjoyed/are enjoying/will enjoy it. :)**

**Thank you to everyone who's reviewed/alerted/favorited this story and/or us. :D**

**Special thanks goes to the following people for reviewing the last chapter: lazyguy90, Matchstick800, meggie-moo s, oooOPurringVieraOooo, byinj, sayo-chan64, VanDerAa, Corisanna, Hakkuchi, xNightDreamerx, StelzaRinator, , Knight of Wings, Rolfa, Kali98, The Bleached Inu, Ms. S, & KNO. You guys make our day! :D (If we have forgotten you or spelled your name wrong, please tell us and we will correct the error immediately.)**

**Thank you so much, and please tell us what you think!**


	8. Freeze, Freeze, Thou Bitter Sky

**Author's Note: Hello to all! We are proud to present Chapter Eight of **_**Midnight Snow**_**. Thanks for reading, folks, and we hope you enjoy! :D**

**This chapter is dedicated to every person who's taken the time to review this story. Thank you very much. Writing is so much more fun because of you. :)**

**WARNING: Upcoming warnings of RenRuki and IchiHime. Please feel free to criticize my writing, but not the pairings. Thank you.**

**Normal = prose, **_**italics**_** = thoughts or inner conversations **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. They belong to Tite Kubo-sensei. I also do not own any of the chapter titles. Cookies for anyone who guesses which poems they're from. :)**

* * *

**Chapter Eight: Freeze, Freeze Thou Bitter Sky**

* * *

**i.**

* * *

Karin stared morosely at the ceiling and contemplated the darker aspects of love and friendship, those things so necessary to life, to happiness even, yet the very same things that damned her to the hell she was currently stuck in. Just because she was a nice person who cared about her sister, she was reduced to…to…to _this_.

"Hold _still_, Karin!" Yuzu circled her forebodingly, like a lion eying its prey. "You're going to ruin the fit!" After making yet another minute adjustment, her twin nodded, apparently satisfied, then turned around and smiled at the two women sitting on the couch behind her. Karin was stuck standing on a stool in Orihime's living room like some kind of glorified mannequin, while Ichigo had taken off as soon as he'd seen the dresses. Karin scowled. Honestly, what kind of brother was he, leaving her to this fate?

"Rukia-nee-chan, I've got to say, these dresses are going to look amazing!" Yuzu continued, heedless of her sister's disgruntlement.

Rukia grinned widely. "Thank you, Yuzu-chan. I'm glad you think so. I think it's more accurate to say that _you_ make the dresses beautiful, though."

Orihime, from her spot next to Rukia, nodded enthusiastically in agreement. "Uh-huh! You two are gorgeous! That shade of red really complements both of you. Here, Yuzu-chan, give us another twirl."

Karin took her eyes off the ceiling just in time to see her sister hold her arms out and spin once more, making the skirt of the deep red, calf-length dress flare out. The color _did _look good on Yuzu, drawing attention to her honey-colored hair and her warm, brown eyes. The white sash at the waist was tied in a bow at the back, accentuating Yuzu's generous curves, and the spaghetti straps showed off her delicate, swan-like neck and slender shoulders. The overall design was simple, but elegant, and fit Yuzu and Orihime to a T, just the sort of thing Rukia would pick for her "honorary sisters" to wear.

Karin spared a glance for Orihime, who was wearing the whole ensemble. A cream-colored lace shawl was draped over her shoulders, and her toes peeked out of white high heels. Karin knew that she and Yuzu had already picked out silver necklaces with moonstones and silver star-shaped studs to wear as jewelry, and that the small bouquets they'd carry would be made out of roses the same shade as the dress, tied with white ribbons to complete the white-and-red theme. Orihime and Yuzu were going to look stunning.

"Ichi-nii and Jinta are going to have to fight admirers off by the dozen come the wedding day," Karin observed.

Yuzu beamed at her. "Save some of the concern for yourself, Karin." Yuzu took in the sight of her sister. The dress looked different on each of them: regal and lovely on Orihime, sweet and girlish on herself, and on Karin…well, it was safe to say "dramatic" was an understatement. The red contrasted beautifully with her pale skin and raven hair, though she probably didn't notice the effect, or much less care even if she did. "Toushirou-kun's going to have a _lot_ of competition once boys see you in that dress. If you ever stand still long enough for me to finish adjusting it, that is."

"I told you, there's nothing like that between me and Toush." Karin rolled her eyes in exasperation. Would they never get tired of that joke? "And seriously, why do you need to fix it anyway? It fits, doesn't it?"

"But it doesn't fit _perfectly_. And it has to fit perfectly, otherwise you'll make Rukia-nee-chan look bad!"

"Oh, please. Nobody'll even glance at my direction if Rukia's in the room," Karin scoffed as Rukia and Orihime exchanged amused glances. Yuzu merely glared.

"That's not the point!"

"Really? I thought that was the whole point, actually." Karin grinned mischievously. "You know, the bridesmaids ought to look awful so the bride looks awesome?"

"The _point_ is that you have a duty as a bridesmaid to look good so the wedding photos look nice. And, honestly, if you'd just paid attention, you wouldn't have missed the fitting and we wouldn't even have to be doing this!" Yuzu retorted.

Karin frowned. "What fitting?" There'd been a fitting? When? The last clothing-related thing she remembered that involved her was visiting that boutique with Yuzu. Yuzu bought the black dress for her, and Karin let her because she thought she'd be able to wear it to the wedding, before she remembered that they had to have matching ones. Gah. This fashion business was _annoying_.

Yuzu threw her hands up in the air. "The fitting when we bought the dresses three _days_ ago that you blew off in favor of playing soccer with Toushirou-kun."

"Oh. That fitting."

"Yes, 'that fitting.' The dressmakers were so nice, too, offering us custom fittings on such short notice." Yuzu pouted, sticking her bottom lip out in the maneuver that always got Goat-chin to cave to her every wish.

Karin was made of sterner stuff, however, and merely snorted. "And the blank check from Byakuya-san had nothing to do with their kindness?"

Yuzu switched back to glaring at her until Karin started squirming slightly. Okay, so maybe she felt a little guilty, but come on! It wasn't that bad! Byakuya was richer than Midas! Or was it Minos…whatever, he was richer than some Greek myth guy, and the dressmakers would certainly be compensated for the inconvenience of not having her there to try the freakin' dress. Yuzu's baleful stare disagreed with her, however.

Thankfully, Rukia intervened before her twin could follow up all the eyeballing with yet another lecture. "It's quite alright, Yuzu-chan. I wouldn't want Karin-chan to be inconvenienced. Besides, this gives you a chance to practice your sewing skills. Orihime tells me you're president of the Karakura High crafts club, and you guys won the regional competition, right?"

Yuzu was promptly diverted, and Karin sighed in relief as she launched into a description of her latest projects. Rukia winked at her and Karin smiled gratefully in her direction. A few minutes later, the fitting was finished, Yuzu was still happily talking, and Karin was finally able to step off the stool she'd been standing on and head to the restroom to take the dress off.

A few minutes later, she emerged in her usual attire of jeans and a t-shirt and happily threw the dress at Yuzu.

"Here, take the instrument of torture." She mockingly made a face at Rukia. "You're lucky I love you or I'd be miles away by now, and I'm not even that involved with the wedding plans."

"Oh, Karin, it's not that bad," Yuzu said. "It's mostly done anyway, and we're only in charge of the fun stuff, like throwing Rukia-nee her bridal shower and her bachelorette party, and making sure she relaxes. Orihime already did most of the booking, right?"

"Uh-huh!" Orihime replied with her usual sunny smile, then frowned suddenly. "The restaurant is available for the bridal shower, but the cute little place where I was going to throw the bachelorette party said my reservation was cancelled."

Rukia lifted her brows. "Really? You couldn't get them to change their minds?"

"Nope." Orihime looked forlorn before brightening. "But it's okay! Rangiku-san said she knows just where to hold it—apparently there's a bar with karaoke that has 'Tropical Thursdays,' complete with foreign dancers or something…?"

Karin and Rukia exchanged worried glances, but Yuzu squealed. "Oh, oh! I bet they do the hula and you guys get to learn! I'm so jealous we won't be able to go."

"Uh…was it foreign, or exotic dancers?" Karin ventured.

Orihime slapped her knee. "Exotic! That's it. I'm not entirely certain what they do, but since Rangiku-san suggested it, I'm certain it'll be fun."

Karin grinned at Rukia. "Why, yes, I'm sure it will be."

Rukia only grimaced.

Unfortunately, Yuzu changed the topic before Karin could tease her other "big sister" properly. "Ooh, Hime-nee-chan, did you book the spa for us and the others? We want to make sure everyone gets the proper treatment."

"Yes!" Orihime replied with her usual sunny smile. "I made the appointments weeks ago, as soon as I knew they were arriving. I decided to go for the all-day treatment and booked us for the day before the wedding. We'll have the whole place to ourselves."

Karin narrowed her eyes. "Wait, what? Am I included in this?" She hoped not.

"Of course you are!" Orihime exclaimed. "We wouldn't leave you out! Even Hiyori-san and the other Vaizards are coming for most of the upcoming events. We get better group discounts that way."

"Hold it, hold it, hold it," Karin said, raising a hand. "Are you saying that you signed me up to have people put stuff on my nails and slather gunk or powder or whatever on my face?"

"And your hair," Yuzu provided helpfully. "Oh, and the rest of your body."

"My bod—_why _in the name of all that's holy would I let you do that?"

"To make you look presentable," Yuzu said, blinking in that innocent way of hers that always indicated she'd successfully trapped you in one of her schemes.

"What the—you just said I looked great five minutes ago, and now you want to mess with that?" Karin stared at her twin in incomprehension.

"You do look great, but you'll look _perfect_ for the wedding." Yuzu had a glint in her eye that was terrifying to behold. "Just like you're supposed to. You'll have your hair trimmed, and your skin exfoliated, and your nails done right, and every inch of you will be stunning."

Karin crossed her arms and set her jaw. "All that work so I can look 'perfect' for just one day? Hell, no! I'm not putting myself through that."

"You don't have a choice," Yuzu growled.

Rukia shook her head. "No, no, Karin-chan's perfectly free not to come."

Karin heaved a sigh of relief.

Yuzu frowned. "But she'll miss all the girl talk!"

Rukia spread her hands. "But remember, I want this wedding to be fun for everyone, and I don't want to force anyone to do things they don't want to—and Karin-chan certainly doesn't want to endure beauty treatments, so she won't have to."

"But you want her there, don't you?" Yuzu asked pointedly.

Rukia hesitated. "That's not the point."

Karin guiltily eyed her expression. She could tell Rukia _did _want her there. "Oh, fine, I'll go."

Yuzu cheered and Orihime smiled at her, even as Rukia placed her hand on her arm and repeated, "You don't have to."

Karin shrugged. "It's a bridesmaid thing, yeah? I'm not a very involved one, so I should at least do my share of it right. We're in this together. All for one and one for all."

Yuzu grinned at the familiar phrase, taken from the old days when they and Ichigo formed their own band of Three Musketeers. She stood and motioned Rukia and Orihime closer, then placed her hand in the middle of their little group. Karin placed her hand atop Yuzu's, and Orihime and Rukia followed, both smiling.

"All for one and one for all!" they shouted in unison, lifting their hands high and laughing.

* * *

**ii.**

* * *

"Karin-chan? Can I talk to you for a second?"

Karin glanced at the woman she considered a second sister. "Hmm? Need something, Hime-nee?"

Toushirou had texted Karin, informing her that he was paying a visit to the old woman he'd befriended here in the Living World. Rukia and Yuzu had gone out to meet Matsumoto, Kiyone, Momo, and some of the others at the mall for some shopping, while Orihime elected to stay inside and work on one of her pieces. Karin, having no desire to go back home to her father without the buffer of at least one other person, decided to stay with her and get some studying done. She'd just cracked open her textbook when Orihime had spoken.

The normally cheerful girl looked unusually grave as she sat down across from Karin, signaling to the latter that something was wrong, or headed that way. She had an awful feeling she knew what, too.

"Karin-chan…have you felt a little, well, off lately? Like something was interfering with your reiatsu, or it just wasn't flowing as smoothly, maybe?"

Karin kept her face cautiously controlled as she smiled and waved a hand dismissively, even as her heart sank. "Off? Nah, not really."

"Are you sure? Because your reiatsu feels strange, almost shaky. It's usually so steady, too, but sometimes I notice an odd kind of pressure about it, like it's building up. It reminds me of when Ichigo first got his powers."

Karin winced internally. Of course it would be Orihime who noticed. Ichigo was not known for his sensitivity to reiatsu in general, much less minute fluctuations of it, and he, along with Ishida, the other discerning member of the group, had been out of town lately. She'd been careful to keep steady control around Urahara, who was known for his…drastic, if well-meant interventions, and her own father had not yet regained full control of his powers, so she was safe there. She kept wanting to mention it to Toushirou, but they'd barely had a moment alone together the past couple of days, and until she told him and got his opinion on her tremulous reiatsu—and the dreams—she had no desire to involve or worry anybody else. She thought she'd succeeded in keeping her problems a secret, too.

Apparently she was wrong, if Orihime's anxious expression was anything to judge by.

She took a deep breath. "I really don't think there's anything to worry about. Yeah, okay, something feels a little different, but I think my powers are just developing a bit more, getting stronger, and my control just hasn't caught up yet. I keep trying to contain it, keep it together, but it's still a bit…wobbly, I guess."

Orihime frowned. "That does sound reasonable. Have you talked to Urahara-san about this, or your father?"

Karin shrugged. "Urahara warned me this might happen, and he's offered to help. I've had training, too." Karin carefully constructed her sentences, making sure she said nothing untrue. Urahara_ had_ mentioned this possibility, and he _did _offer help, but that had been years ago, and so had her training—which had happened at Don Kanonji's hands, not Urahara's.

Karin had mostly developed her powers on her own, and she was happy to keep it that way, without interference from Soul Society or Urahara or anyone else for that matter. She'd seen what getting involved with the World of the Dead cost Ichigo, and she knew that even though nothing so complicated was likely to happen to her, she still didn't want to risk anything like it. Being a substitute shinigami had taken over her brother's life, took focus away from his schoolwork, his family, his friends. Karin had a goal, an important one—to become a cardiologist, to help people with broken hearts, to be like Dr. Takano—and it was going to take a lot of work to make it come true. She couldn't afford to let anything get in the way of that.

So she carefully rolled her eyes, smirked, and said, "Trust me, Hime-nee, everything's going to be fine. I haven't really had time to meditate or do those control exercises lately, what with school and all, but I promise I'll work on it as soon as I get some free time. I'll have it under control in no time, you'll see."

Orihime smiled, obviously relieved. "Oh, good, good. I'm glad it's nothing serious, then." She paused and then took Karin's hand in her own. "But if you do have any problems or troubles, please tell me, okay? I'll be here for you, and so will everyone else."

"I know, Hime-nee," Karin said. "I know."

(She made no promises, however. Her troubles would remain her own, and no one else's, not if she could help it.)

* * *

**iii.**

* * *

"Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket, save it for a rainy day," Karin sang under her breath.

She was walking home, after gently refusing Orihime's offer to drive her back, claiming she'd much rather take a stroll and watch the sunset, which was true.

There were also other reasons behind her choice, of course.

"Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket, never let it fade away…" She looked up towards the distant horizon, noting the way the sky was slowly deepening to a rich purple, and stars were indeed making their presence known.

"How exactly are you supposed to do that, Kurosaki? Stars are made out of gas, you know."

"Toush!" Karin grinned at her best friend. "I knew you'd come and check on me."

He merely raised his brow at her, replying sardonically, "Well, I can't just let you wander around alone. Everyone knows your sense of direction sucks, and, you being you, you'd probably get lost."

She scowled. "Hey! My sense of direction is vastly superior to yours! And I never get lost, thank you very much. I don't need you to babysit me." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Mm-hmm. So I'm just supposed to let a foolish young woman walk the streets at night without an escort? What kind of gentleman would that make me?" He fell into step beside her, casually tucking his hands into his pockets as he teased her.

"Oh, please. Don't be so condescending. I can take care of myself. And you are no gentleman at all, at least according to my elder brother, who, of course, has the right to dictate whom I may associate with." She fluttered her lashes at him, mockingly playing the part of a coy maiden, circa 1900.

Now it was his turn to scowl. "Your brother is an idiot."

"Why, sir! How dare you say such a thing? He is only looking out for my best interests. Really, what else is he supposed to say in regards to a…a…" Karin scrunched her nose, searching for the right word. "A suitor! Yes, yes, a _suitor _who takes such liberties with my person." Another flutter, just to make Toushirou's mouth twitch. If she kept at it long enough, she could get him to smile, and his smiles were _always_ worth working for.

At the moment, however, annoyance was still winning out in his expression. "Liberties? What liberties? Nothing was going on!"

Karin dramatically stuck the back of her hand against her forehead and turned her face away, ostensibly in despair but really so he couldn't see her grinning. "Oh, Toushirou! How could you forget so soon? Do you not remember the rapturous night we spent entwined, only three days ago? It was the loveliest night of my life."

Oh, oh, look, there was a definite quirk to his mouth now! "I'd describe it as one of the worse ones myself, considering we were, ahem, tied up by your madman of a father and my meddling gossip of a fukutaichou."

Karin coughed to cover up her laughter. "Minor details, minor details. Do you not recall that afterwards, you lay beside me and clutched me tightly to you?"

"Um, no. I do recall falling asleep on your couch and you cutting off circulation to my leg, you had it in a grip so tight. I never would have pegged you for a clinger, but you totally are," Toushirou said, smirking at her.

She glowered at him and smacked his shoulder. "Shut up! I am not! Yuzu is the clingy one, not me!" she said, dropping their pretense and the exalted language.

Toushirou's smirk turned into a full-on smile, and Karin had to bite her lip to keep herself from smiling back—Kami, she loved his smile, loved to be the one to _make_ him smile. But if she ever let on, he'd probably stop doing it quite so often around her, so she had to be careful to treat it like it was nothing special, even if it was nothing but.

"Don't worry, Kurosaki," he said. "Your secret's safe with me."

Her eyes widened. Did he know—? Oh, wait, he was referring to her tendency to act like a limpet to anyone who shared the bed with her, not the other one. Of course, he wouldn't know about the other one, he wasn't a mind reader, even though he certainly acted like one sometimes. She shook her head, getting her thoughts back under control.

"I have no secrets," she said haughtily, lifting her chin.

(Oh, but she did, so many secrets bottled up inside her now, just waiting to get out, like winds whirling around, like storms building, like dragons roaring, like death threats hovering—_You will die, you will die_, the voices whispered.

_Shutupshutup_, she whispered back.)

His smile only grew more amused. "Yes, you certainly don't, at least not from me, I hope."

She flinched internally, stabbed suddenly with guilt. It was one thing to keep the dreams secret from Orihime, who'd only worry herself to death; and from Urahara, who probably wouldn't be able to do anything anyway; and even from Rukia or anyone else from Soul Society, who might be duty-bound to tell Seireitei and stir up trouble for both her and themselves. It was another thing entirely to keep this a secret from Toushirou. She trusted him to watch her back, and if anyone could help her, he could. He was a taichou, for goodness's sake, and even more importantly, he was her best friend.

She'd actually have told him earlier, but every time she even started to talk, somebody would interrupt, or his cell phone would beep, indicating he had a Hollow to kill, or _her_ cell phone would beep, indicating that Yuzu or Otou-san or one of the guys needed her, or…or…or…

Or something would happen. Really, it was kind of annoying. The Women's Association dragged him off daily, she had school, and any time they spent together was guaranteed to be spent in the company of at least two other people, usually shinigami, but even her friends had a habit of following them around. She _never_ got any time alone with him.

"No, you don't, do you?" Toushirou said wistfully.

"Huh?" Karin said, shocked. Did he just answer her? Oh, no! He_ did_ develop mind-reading powers!

"What do you mean, 'huh'? Oh, wait, you were talking to yourself again, weren't you?"

Karin blushed. She really needed to get that habit under control. She cleared her throat. "Uh…yeah. Sorry about that. And I don't mean to complain. It's just…I thought we'd get to hang out, only the two of us, nobody else, like old times. But I guess that's too much to ask when I still have classes and you have to stop Yachiru-chan from setting playground parks on fire."

He rolled his eyes, though his smile still stayed on his face. "_Don't _remind me. I don't even know where she got that tank of propane from." His eyes softened as he looked at her. "But look—we're alone right now, aren't we? No crazy fukutaichous, no stalker-like friends. And it's sunset, too. _Our _time of day."

She looked around and saw that he was right. They were alone, no normal humans, or worse, _abnormal_ humans around. Just them. Nobody else. The street was even completely empty. It was the perfect situation to tell him about the dreams; she could spill her guts and no one else would know.

She opened her mouth to speak, but she never got the chance.

A look of alarm replaced Toushirou's smile. "Karin! Look out!"

And a Huge Hollow decided it was the perfect moment to attack.

"Oh, come on, _now_?" Karin said.

It just wasn't her day, was it?

* * *

**Endnote: Yeah, we're evil; we know. *smirks* **

**By the way, the last chapter title is taken from the poem "Dreams in the dusk," written by Carl Sandburg. In other noteworthy news, WE HAVE REACHED OVER 100 REVIEWS FOR THIS STORY. OH MY GOSH YOU PEOPLE ARE AMAZING THANK YOU SO MUCH. :)**

**Thank you for reading this chapter, and thank you to everyone who's reviewed/alerted/favorited this story and/or us. :D**

**Special thanks goes to the following people for reviewing the last chapter: lazyguy90, FlyingLikeAButterfly, Forbidden-Hanyou, Cecelia Haunt, torianime246, Crystal, Awesome, xNightDreamerx, Black Rose, & three Guests. ;) You guys make our day! :D (If we have forgotten you or spelled your name wrong, please tell us and we will correct the error immediately.)**

**Again, thank you very much, and please review!**


	9. Because I Could Not Stop for Death

**Author's Note: Welcome back, folks! Sorry for the prolonged absence—we blame life and laziness. *bows apologetically* Nevertheless, we are proud to finally present Chapter Nine of **_**Midnight Snow**_**. Thanks for reading and we hope you enjoy! :D**

**WARNING: Upcoming warnings of RenRuki and IchiHime. Please feel free to criticize my writing, but not the pairings. Thank you.**

**Normal = prose, **_**italics**_** = thoughts or inner conversations **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. They belong to Tite Kubo-sensei. I also do not own any of the chapter titles. Cookies for anyone who guesses which poems they're from (though this chapter's is kind of a give-away, since it IS the title). :)**

* * *

**Chapter Nine: Because I Could Not Stop for Death, He Kindly Stopped for Me**

* * *

**i.**

* * *

"Karin! Look out!" Toushirou shouted. He quickly popped his gikon pill in his mouth and entered his shinigami form, telling the Mod Soul to grab Karin and get out of the way.

"I don't believe this!" she was saying, as the gigai grabbed her arm and bodily pulled her in the opposite direction. True to form, she sounded way more annoyed than scared. "And would you get off! I need my arm to fight, you know!"

Toushirou rolled his eyes and unsheathed his sword. If everything went according to plan, he could dispatch the huge Hollow in fifteen seconds flat, and they could get back to their conversation.

The Huge Hollow bellowed and tried to swat at him with its over-sized arms, which ended in scythe-shaped fists that neatly sliced several branches off nearby tress. Toushirou dodged the sloppy attack, and the stupid thing increased its spiritual pressure in an attempt to overwhelm him.

"Nice try, moron, but I'm a taichou," he said.

It merely roared and charged again.

Toushirou sidestepped, jumping into the air and settling behind the Hollow. "Kami-sama, why can't you things attack when I'm actually on watch? One afternoon with my best friend, that's all that I'm asking for," he muttered, eyeing the things with displeasure.

After the first initial rush of adrenaline had faded (right behind her, the hollow had been _right behind_ _her_, and even though he knew he could protect her and that she could damn well protect herself, seeing Karin in harm's way always had his gut clenching in fear), he could coolly step back and analyze the Hollow's weak points. It favored its left shoulder, leaving its right side wide open when it swung, and on its next charge, Toushirou planned to take full advantage of the weakness.

He raised his sword, ready to strike—

—and Karin got in the way, jabbing her reiatsu-covered hand into its gut. "And that, you stupid Hollow, is for ignoring me!" she yelled.

"Karin!" Toushirou said, barely managing to turn his blow aside.

"Oh, hey, Toush. You can let me handle this," she replied.

"Are you crazy?" he yelled.

She turned from the hollow long enough to shoot him a malevolent glare. "No. I'm an experienced Hollow bounty-hunter, and this one looks to be worth at least ¥5,000, so excuse me if I don't run away and huddle with your gigai like a damsel in distress."

"You're getting in the way!"

"Am not! And damn it, it's your vacation! You're supposed to be relaxing!"

"Taking down a Huge Hollow is relaxing! It's barely any work! I could do it in my sleep!"

"If it's so easy, then you should take a backseat and let me handle this!"

"No! I started fighting it first!"

"Oh, what, we have to have a dibs system now?"

"You—Karin, just let me kill the thing!"

"Shut up!" she yelled back, turning to punch the Hollow right in its mask, her anger giving her reiatsu a sudden boost in power.

The mask cracked and the hollow disintegrated, accompanied by an intense blast of reiatsu-infused wind, swirling chaotically along the street and coming to center on Karin.

His best friend dropped abruptly to the ground, and the wind died the moment her knees hit the pavement. So did her reiatsu, the warm, crackling presence that Toushirou instinctively tuned into whenever he was in Karakura abruptly disappearing.

"Karin!" he shouted, sheathing his sword and dropping to his knees alongside her, hands frantically going to her shoulders and pushing her back, almost shocked when he encountered warm flesh when on a spiritual level she simply felt_ gone_.

Karin clutched her head and groaned, then opened her eyes—and suddenly her spiritual pressure was back, so smoothly and suddenly that Toushirou doubted for a second that he'd felt its lack. Maybe his own reiatsu had simply smothered hers…?

"Are you alright?" he asked, worried, hands still lingering on her arms.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just got a migraine. Fighting Hollows can do that to us mere mortals you know." She smirked at him.

"I—you were gone," he said, his voice tinged with desperation. "I couldn't feel you at all, something was wrong and you were _gone_—"

"Whoa, Toush, I'm fine," she said, thumping a fist against her chest. "I was here the whole time, nothing to worry about."

He glared at her. "You're not listening to me. Karin, you were—"

"I'm_ fine_," she said, finally pushing him away and getting up. She brushed herself off and began walking towards his gigai. "You're the one who isn't listening. And what was with the whole 'you're getting in the way' thing? I thought we were a team. I thought you trusted me to take care of myself."

"I _do_ trust you to take care of yourself," he said, frustrated. He followed after her. "I just wanted to kill the Hollow and get it over with. It wasn't about you not being able to handle it."

"Then trust me," she said, turning around and looking into his eyes. "Trust me."

He sighed. "Alright," he said, searching her face. She was hiding something from him, he could tell, but if she wanted him to drop it, he would—for now.

"Good," she muttered.

He got back in his gigai and they started walking back to her house again, passing several blocks in sullen, tense silence.

"My reiatsu's been acting weird," she said suddenly after a few minutes.

He took a breath, relieved that she'd decided to trust him, too. "Then earlier…?"

"It's happened before. Sometimes even out of nowhere. My reiatsu suddenly just builds and builds, and I have to tamp it down, get a lid on it."

Toushirou furrowed his brow. "It builds? But it disappeared; it didn't feel like it was out of control—"

"It's not out of control," she interrupted. "It's not."

"I know it's not," he said patiently. "I'm saying that it _disappeared_. Karin, reiatsu isn't supposed to do that, not even when a person dies. It's like you blipped out of existence."

She frowned and stopped suddenly, scuffing her feet on the sidewalk. She turned to face him, closed her eyes, and—

Gone.

Toushirou felt like he'd plunged into icy water. His eyes were telling him she was right in front of him, flesh and blood and bone and heart, but his spiritual sense was telling him that nothing was there.

She opened her eyes, and she was back. She looked at him worriedly.

"O…kay," he said. "I didn't know people could do that."

She shrugged, trying for nonchalance and miserably failing. "Maybe it's a Kurosaki thing?"

He snorted. "Uh, no. Your brother couldn't hide his reiatsu if he tried, not in a million years. It'd be like an elephant trying to squeeze itself into a teacup."

She chuckled. "Okay, yeah, I can see your point." She started walking again, swinging her hands in that way she had when she was nervous. "So…should I be worried? I honestly think it's just my powers getting stronger, and my control not being up to scratch. Look at Ichigo when he first started out, projecting all over the damn place. I'm doing loads better in comparison."

"True," Toushirou said, his worry fading. If Karin could control it at will, it seemed harmless enough…"But maybe you should have Unohana look at you once we're in Soul Society for the wedding. See if everything checks out. You know, the Soutaichou wouldn't mind it if you enrolled for a couple years in the Academy—"

"Uh, no," she said, wrinkling her nose. "Gonna go to college and be a doctor, remember? I've got my whole life planned out, and I'm not letting shinigami stuff hijack it the way it did Ichigo's."

"Yeah," he said. "I know." He paused. "Is there anything else…?"

She glanced at him then looked. "No, not really. Not unless—well, do you ever get weird dreams?"

Toushirou's gut clenched. Did she know his secret? He'd been planning on telling her, since it seemed like keeping it to himself broke several best-friend laws, and he was _tired _of letting nobody know and generally not having a clue what to do about it himself. Even if she couldn't help him, talking with her always cleared his head and put things in perspective. But there had never seemed to be a right time to tell her, "Hey, there's this dragon in my head who's accusing me of homicide." How the hell did she figure it out by herself? Did he talk in his sleep that night on the couch?

"Look, it's nothing serious. I'm sure it'll blow over soon," he said, trying to placate her. "Shinigami get reiatsu-related dreams all the time, and it probably means there's just a disturbance in their spiritual energy. Even humans get affected sometimes. It's no big deal."

"Oh," she said, looking intensely relieved. "That's good."

"Yeah," he said, nudging her with his shoulder. "So you shouldn't worry." He decided not to go into greater detail—with her expanding spiritual powers and the simple stresses of growing up, she already had enough problems on her plate without adding his own. "Come on—Yuzu's making Korean barbecue tonight. I'll race you back."

And he took off running, with Karin right on his heels, laughing together like they didn't have a care in the world.

* * *

**ii.**

* * *

"Whoa, I can't believe I'm actually letting you do this to me," Karin said, fidgeting in her seat two days later, one day before The Wedding (and yes, it deserved capital letters). "Yuzu, you _owe_ me."

Yuzu huffed and smacked her hand. "I do not! It's your duty as a bridesmaid!"

"You know, I'm getting really tired of that phrase. I thought being a bridesmaid meant looking pretty and decorative and handing the bride her bouquet before she threw it, and maybe pranking the groom. Not enduring hours of torture in the week leading up to the wedding," Karin grumbled. She fidgeted some more.

Yuzu sat up and took a cucumber slice off her eye to shoot Karin an evil glare. "Stop fidgeting and let the exfoliant do its job."

"Yuzu. I'm sitting in a spa chair with purple gunk on my face, surrounded by hung-over women, while my sister lectures me wearing nothing but seaweed and green goo. 'Fidgety' is my default mode at the moment."

Yuzu rolled her eyes and put the cucumber slice back on, lying back down. "It's a spa day, Karin. It's supposed to be enjoyable."

"That's what you said about the bridal shower. Though at least there was alcohol."

"Tell me you didn't drink the stuff."

"Hey, it was free. I only had a sip or two," Karin said defensively. "Besides, you tell me you weren't tempted to down a glass when Matsumoto broke out the lingerie."

Yuzu giggled despite herself. "I thought Hime-nee-chan was going to have a heart attack. Her face was so red!"

Karin smiled. "I liked Tatsuki's present best. Edible underwear. Who'd have thought she had it in her? I'm sure Renji will enjoy it, though."

"Karin!" Yuzu sounded more delighted than scandalized, however, so Karin just grinned.

"What? It was even pineapple-flavored. I'm just stating the truth."

"Amen to that!" Matsumoto said, plopping down in the chair next to Yuzu.

"Hi, Rangiku-chan. How was the massage?" Yuzu said.

"Simply divine! You two have to try it out!"

"No thanks," Karin said. "Strangers touching me and rubbing oil on me? I think I'll pass."

Matsumoto shrugged. "Your loss." She looked over at the other women stretched out on the chairs: everyone from Unohana and Isane to Rukia and Tatsuki. "Eh, is everyone still asleep?"

"Yeah. These chairs are really comfy," Karin conceded. "Plus, last night was a total wringer. What did you guys _do_ after we left?" she asked.

The bridal shower itself, despite Karin's complaints, had actually been pretty fun. The food was great and the stories everyone shared about Rukia and Renji were funny and light-hearted. Even the gift-opening portion was surprisingly touching, lingerie notwithstanding, as everyone did their best to make Rukia feel loved and treasured and absolutely, incandescently happy.

From the pictures Yuzu uploaded to her computer, and judging from the way Rukia's smile was positively radiant in each and every one, Karin thought that they'd succeeded.

Afterwards, Yuzu and Karin had taken a sleeping Yachiru home with them as Rangiku and Yoruichi led the other women off to the karaoke bar for the "Tropical Thursday"-themed bachelorette party.

Now, everyone _but_ Rangiku and Yoruichi were still ridiculously hung-over and refused to answer Yachiru's insistent queries on what she missed. Karin could only admire Matsumoto's foresight on scheduling the bachelorette party two nights before the wedding to let everyone recover.

"Must've been some night," Karin said, grinning at Matsumoto. "Though I'm not surprised that you're completely fine."

Matsumoto snorted. "Of course I'm fine! Me, hung-over? Please, I have saké for blood."

"And she weeps champagne for tears," Yoruichi said, ambling in wearing nothing but a very tiny towel. "Hey, Karin-chan, Yuzu-chan. How've things been for you two? Haven't been able to catch up with you guys for a while."

Yuzu smiled. "We're doing just fine, Yoruichi-san."

"That so? Glad to hear it. Is Jinta treating you right?"

Yuzu nodded enthusiastically and began eagerly revealing the details of her relationship, then moving onto the latest drama to hit Karakura High as Matsumoto and Yoruichi listened and made appreciative noises. The former in particular contributed stories about her own romantic life and got Yuzu up to date on the gossip of Seireitei.

Karin merely closed her eyes and listened with half an ear, perking up only when she heard her name mentioned.

"—and Tomiko-chan's jaw nearly dropped to the floor when Toushirou-kun picked Karin up from school yesterday! Everyone's convinced that they're in a long-distance relationship now, and that's why Karin won't ever go out with boys who like her."

"Wait, what?" Karin said, sitting bolt upright. "There are so many things wrong with those statements that I don't even know where to begin."

Matsumoto, Yoruichi, and Yuzu regarded each other with amused expression. "See what I have to deal with?" Yuzu said. She turned to her twin. "What's the problem?"

"Well, first off, Toushirou did not 'pick me up,' he met me at the school gate so we could go play soccer."

"Semantics," Matsumoto said with a wave of her hand.

"Secondly, we are _not _in a long-distance relationship—"

"I thought you were best friends," Yoruichi said teasingly.

"We are, but—oh, you know what I mean! We're _just _friends! And it shouldn't even matter if we were going out, because that's none of anybody else's business. Lastly, nobody's asked me out, so what's this about boys liking me?"

Yuzu rolled her eyes. "Karin, at least two boys have asked you out, and you've always blown them off by saying you had practice or needed to study."

"When? _Who_?"

"Daisuke-san, for one," she said, naming a boy on the guys' soccer team. "Yukio-kun, for another."

"What? No way, when did they—" Karin suddenly stopped talking when a memory of awkward conversations and invitations to lunch that she'd politely turned down surfaced. "They were _asking me out_?!"

Yuzu and Matsumoto sighed as Yoruichi burst into laughter.

"Hnn? Whazzit?" Orihime said, bolting upright. She blinked blearily at the room.

"Don't worry, Onee-chan," Yuzu said soothingly. "I was only talking about the times Karin rejected our classmates."

"Oh. I see," Orihime said. She rubbed her eyes, blinking when orange goo covered her fingers. "Whoops. Anyway, I always did feel sorry for Daisuke-san in particular. He kept trying so hard."

"Why didn't anyone tell me?" Karin demanded.

"Because you'd react exactly like this," Yuzu and Orihime said simultaneously.

Karin hunched her shoulders. Okay, so she'd always been a bit oblivious to love, but this seemed to be pushing it. "I didn't mean to blow them off," she muttered.

"But would you have said yes, even if you did realize what they were asking?" Matsumoto said. Next to her, Rukia was also sitting up, and Yuzu and Orihime caught her up on the conversation as Karin pondered the question.

"Well, no," she said bluntly. "I was busy, and I probably _did_ have to study or go to practice. I don't have time for that sort of stuff."

"Hmmm." Matsumoto eyed her thoughtfully. "Why not?"

"Because I'm going to be a doctor," she replied matter-of-factly.

"Karin-chan," Yoruichi said, her voice uncharacteristically gentle, "that doesn't mean you can't have a life. Things are different nowadays. The choice doesn't have to be between having a career and having a family. You can have both, if you want."

Karin to open her mouth to say she _didn't_ want to have both, but then stopped. Did she really never want to go out with somebody? Get married, have a kid or two? She'd planned her professional life down to the last detail, but she'd never really thought about her personal life as something other than a vague "someday." "Someday," after she'd gotten through med school and her residency and was working in a prestigious hospital. "Someday," after she'd found a guy she liked.

But thinking about it, what kind of guy _did_ she like?

Karin blinked, startled to find she didn't have a clue where to start other than "not a jerk."

"Have you ever thought about it?" Rukia asked. "I mean, if you really don't want to date or get married, that's great! It's not for everybody."

"Obviously," Yoruichi said with a grin, lazily pointing at herself. "Yours truly included. Though Kisuke might change my mind someday." She winked.

"But you know, there's a difference between choosing that life for yourself and not even seeing that you have a choice," Rukia said. "And you do have one—look at me. I'm getting married to my best friend, to a guy who not only respects that I have a career that I'm dedicated to, but actively pushes me to do my very best in it. Renji's support is one of the reasons I had the courage to try for the position of fukutaichou in the first place."

"Uh-huh," Orihime said. "And Ichigo's always had faith in me and my abilities, whether it comes to fighting alongside our friends, or setting up my own art show."

Karin bit her lip. "Huh. Okay. Wow, you know, I never really thought about this."

Everyone snorted. "Honey, we can tell," Matsumoto said.

Yuzu patted her hand. "It's alright, Karin. We don't mean to make you uncomfortable. I love that you know exactly what you want to do, and that you work so hard to do it, but I just…get a little worried. You get such intense tunnel-vision sometimes that I'm scared you'll miss the little details and simple stuff focusing on your version of the big picture."

"And if you can't even tell when a guy asks you out, that's a bad sign," Matsumoto said. She grinned at her. "Speaking of guys asking you out…what kind of guy would you say yes to, if you got your head out of the game long enough to notice that he's asking?"

Karin groaned as Yuzu giggled. "Oh, Kami, not girl talk."

"Oh, please, what do you think we've been doing for the past few minutes? Now that we're past the heavy stuff, we can talk about the fun stuff." Matsumoto wiggled her brows. "So? Tall and lean? Blond? Brunette? Redhead?" She winked at Rukia and Orihime.

"How about smart?" Karin said dryly. "I don't really have a physical type—"

"Well, yeah, considering that you don't even seem to notice boys on an attractive level," Yuzu said.

"—but I refuse to waste my time with an idiot. And he has to be funny, like, sarcastic and witty and a total deadpan snarker, otherwise he'll never get my jokes. And he has to be hard-working, because I can't stand lazy guys. Loyal, too, and responsible. Trustworthy, you know? And he has to be able to respect me and my decisions.

"I don't really care what he looks like, as long as he takes care of his health, but it would be nice if he were hot. Mmm, he has to get along with my friends, and you have to like him, Yuzu, because I'm not dating a guy you don't like. Which means that he'll probably have to be brave enough to stand up to Ichigo, huh, and…crazy enough to put up with Tou-san like the rest of us. Okay, that one's gonna be tough. Oh, and he totally has to like soccer."

Karin finished her list, feeling pleased at the end of it. She _did _have an idea of what she was looking for, she just wasn't looking for it right now. She relaxed—she had time; romance could wait.

She looked around to find everyone exchanging knowing, amused glances.

"She has no idea who she just described, does she?" Yoruichi said.

"Now do you feel our pain?" Matsumoto said.

"What are you talking about?" Karin said. "Of course I don't know who I'm describing, it's all hypothetical! Sheesh, it's not like I've met the guy yet."

Yuzu rolled her eyes and smirked. "Really? Because it's pretty obvious to us, and even to our whole high school, that you already have."

Karin frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Yuzu recited the list: "Smart. Sarcastically funny. Hard-working. Loyal. Responsible. Trustworthy. Respectful. Hot—"

"That was optional," Karin interjected.

"Gets along with your friends. Liked by me. Stands up to Ichigo. Can deal with our crazy father. Loves soccer."

"And…?"

"And all this really makes me wonder why it is you're surprised that everyone thinks you and Toushirou-kun are dating," Yuzu said matter-of-factly.

Karin's mouth dropped open. "What? Yuzu, are you insane? I said that we're just friends!"

Rukia laughed. "Wow, she sounds just like I did! You're totally right, Orihime!"

Karin scowled. "I'm not dating Toushirou."

"So the question is, why not?" Yoruichi said.

Karin opened her mouth to answer and blurted out, "Because he's Toushirou!"

"Which makes him perfect for you!" Yuzu argued.

"Does not! And he's a shinigami!"

"Tou-san married Kaa-san," she pointed out logically.

"I don't think of him that way!"

"Which is why we want you to start," Matsumoto said. "Just start. You don't even have to do anything besides look at him and…consider the _possibilities_." She grinned.

"Yeah, and if you can't even manage that, I can help you out," Yoruichi said. "Just look at his butt when he's bending over. That boy has one fine ass, and I think you'll get the hint after that."

"…you know what, I think I'll go and get that massage."

Karin walked out of the room with her friends' laughter in her ears, trying to convince herself that she wasn't blushing. She was _not_.

* * *

**iii.**

* * *

"Karin, are you alright?"

Toushirou looked over his shoulder at her, where she'd dropped a plate onto the floor.

She snapped her head to the side and stared at the wall. "Yeah! No! I'm completely fine!"

He furrowed his brows. "Are you sure, because you look a little flushed…"

"Nope! I'm fine. Just—pull out the rags, already, would you? You can't be comfortable bent over like that."

He shrugged. "Alright." He grabbed the rags and stood up, though she kept shooting him odd looks now and then.

He chalked it up to the spa day. Karin was never good at prolonged exposure to girl talk.

* * *

**Endnote: And that's all we wrote! Yay, no cliff-hanger this time! And the next chapter is the wedding (FINALLY. God, it's kind of ironic, but this is one of two stories of ours where there will be a wedding in the next chapter…and WE'RE ALMOST THERE. HOLD ON, PEOPLE.). Thank you very much for reading! ;) **

**The last chapter title is taken from the poem "Winter Sonnet XXIII," written by the immortal William Shakespeare. **

**Thank you for reading this chapter, and thank you to everyone who's reviewed/alerted/favorited this story and/or us. :D**

**Special thanks goes to the following people for reviewing the last chapter:** **MomoPeachFlower, Shahar Mystral, DusksDarkness, Quetzalcoatls, bloodyrose1294, Silverpearl2, Phantom-Cosplayer, Forbidden-Hanyou, elle, dog531, hitsukarin4lyf, FlyingLikeAButterfly, Black Rose, Ruza-chan, and xNightDreamerx. ;) You guys make our day! :D (If we have forgotten you or spelled your name wrong, please tell us and we will correct the error immediately.)**

**Again, thank you very much, and please review!**


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